When should food safety training be provided to employees?

Food safety training should be provided upon hiring and at least annually thereafter to ensure that all employees understand the practices and procedures necessary to maintain a safe food environment. This ongoing education is crucial in reinforcing the knowledge and skills needed to prevent foodborne illnesses and to meet regulatory requirements.

By integrating training into the onboarding process for new employees, organizations can establish foundational knowledge about food safety from the start. Annual refreshers help maintain that knowledge over time and adapt to any changes in regulations, best practices, or food safety technologies.

Training solely when a foodborne illness is reported does not proactively prevent issues but rather reacts to them after they occur. Monthly training may lead to information overload for employees and is often not practical for many operations. Restricting training to periods during health inspections does not ensure employees are adequately prepared or informed to uphold food safety standards consistently.