Food Hygiene and HACCP

According to the current European legislation, food handling workers must have followed adequate training in food hygiene. The topics of these courses should address the following topics:

food hygiene, with particular attention to measures to prevent the hygiene and health hazards associated with the handling of food;
the application of self-control measures in relation to the food sector in which the worker works
identifying the critical points of production, storage, transport and distribution phases.
Content is the same at national level, but legislation differs from region to region and changes the training time required, the validity and the way of obtaining certificates.

In Lazio it is Annex 825 of November 3, 2009, Annex 1, to define how the food handling operators should be trained. In the text it is defined that: “OSA food business operator has the duty to ensure that its staff are adequately trained, whether they are managers of HACCP procedures, whether they are direct food handling agents … “.

It is also stated that people trained must also be subject to “periodic updates in the event of changes in the production cycle, installations and reference regulations”.

The minimum duration of the course for food handling workers (basic course) is 6 hours,
The course for Leaders must last for a minimum of 20 hours.
Attestation is after passing a written text, but the training is valid for a maximum of 3 years.
In the case of verification of control bodies these can check the efficiency of the training.

In Lombardy, the reference law is the “unique text of regional health laws”, Regional Law 33 of 2009, Article 126, which regulates how the food handling operators are trained.

This law defines that:

the courses we have a two-year recurrence (the current training is to replace the health booklet)
the minimum or maximum number of hours of training is not defined must be tailored to the needs of the company and the work carried out by the operators
there are no reported ways of obtaining certificates
Training courses in Lazio and Lombardy
Lazio – Basic course for HACCP food handling staff, 6 hours, qualification gained by passing the test at the end of the course

Lombardy – Basic course for HACCP food processors, 2 hours