Food, Beverage & Hospitality · Employer knowledge

Training & food-handling capability

Teach people the procedures that apply to their work, supervise them appropriately, and check that they can actually follow the food-safety controls your business relies on.

Food-handler capability should be built around the food safety measure that applies to the business. MPI's Simply Safe & Suitable template Food Control Plan, for businesses within its scope, requires the business to train staff so they know how to keep food safe, including the procedures relevant to the jobs they do. Other Food Act regimes may have different requirements, so managers should use the current plan or programme that applies to their operation.

Workplace health and safety duties also matter. Under the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016, specified training and supervision requirements apply where work, plant or substances can give rise to workplace risks. Food-safety instruction and worker health-and-safety training can therefore sit alongside each other, but they serve different purposes.

What should a manager have in place?

Do not start with a generic certificate. Start with the person's actual duties and the procedures they need to follow, then decide what instruction, demonstration, supervision and checking is appropriate.

Role-based inductionBefore a person works independently, explain the food-safety and workplace procedures relevant to their duties, equipment and work area.

Food-safety proceduresTrain people in the parts of the applicable FCP or National Programme procedures they need for their work, such as hygiene, temperature control, cleaning, contamination prevention or allergen controls where relevant.

Supervision & practical checkingUse suitable supervision and practical observation where needed. A course-completion record can show learning occurred, but it should not automatically be treated as proof that every procedure is being performed correctly.

Refresh when things changeRevisit instruction or supervision when duties, menu/processes, equipment, procedures, risks or food-safety requirements change, or when monitoring shows a gap.

Manager check

Does each worker know the food-safety procedures relevant to the jobs they actually perform?
Are new or inexperienced workers appropriately supervised until they can carry out their work safely and correctly?
Where a control depends on practical behaviour, do we check what happens in practice rather than relying only on a completed course?
Are allergen, cleaning, temperature, cross-contamination or other relevant controls included where they apply to the person's duties?
Do we refresh instruction when procedures, equipment, products or duties change?
Can we show what relevant instruction or training was provided where our applicable food-safety system requires evidence?

MPI template Food Control Plan guidance →MPI National Programmes →Back to Food, Beverage & Hospitality Hub

NZQC provides practical educational information. It is not legal advice and does not certify that a provider is compliant. Check the official source and the requirements that apply to your service, contracts and scope.