Online Food Handler Permit Program Accessible 24/7

Posted on | December 2, 2009 | No Comments

LINCOLN, Neb. — Food handlers work all hours of the day, so the idea of making their required training available all hours of the day just made sense when University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension and the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department teamed up to make that happen.

“We could not accommodate all the times people would like to have a class to fit their schedule,” said Joyce Jensen, environmental health supervisor, disease prevention at the Lancaster-Lincoln Health County Department. “We were looking for ways to increase accessibility to food handler classes.”

Since 1994, UNL Extension, UNL’s Food Processing Center and the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department have worked together on several programs.

“It’s a long-time partnership,” Jensen said. “It’s been good. This collaboration provides us some expertise and abilities for online interactive training that we do not have. The end result is to provide food handlers with knowledge of food safety that is essential as they are preparing food for the public.”

“Lincoln is one of the safest places to eat because of this partnership and resource for the food service community,” said John Rupnow, UNL Extension food processing specialist and a member of the Food Advisory Committee, who will oversee the distance education option of this training. Rupnow hopes other counties will adopt food handler programs similar to the one in Lincoln.

“(Our food handlers) recognize that if they don’t handle the food right people can get sick or even die,” Rupnow said. “Educating people and making sure they have the appropriate knowledge is key and this class is always important even as times have changed. The online option will make disseminating that knowledge so much easier.”

Harshavardhan Thippareddi, UNL Extension food safety specialist and also a member of the Food Advisory Committee, also has worked with Rupnow on the online course and with the Special Projects Team within Instructional Design and Development, a part of UNL’s Extended Education and Outreach. The Special Projects Team oversaw all aspects of the instructional design as well as the production of the online course.

Michael Messineo, operations director of Valentino’s of America and current chair of the Food Advisory Committee, said the convenience of the online training is a plus.

“It gives employees another avenue in which they can learn the principles of food safety,” Messineo said. “It’s good to see our health department keep pace with technology. A lot of our employees are very much used to using the Internet and working online, and having that interaction and visual and audio components will help teach food safety.”

Jensen said the Food Advisory Committee has been instrumental in guiding the program, making sure that it meets the needs of the industry. The Food Advisory Committee is composed of two-thirds food industry professionals and one-third general public, including educators and people interested in food safety.

Messineo said the university also is a great resource. UNL’s Food Processing Center has had several programs to help food processing and food service industries succeed.

“I can’t count the number of classes and seminars that the university has put on to help people in our industry learn more and more about protecting public health,” he said.

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department permits about 11,000 food handlers and managers every year. Classes will continue to be provided in person at the health department. The online version will add another option for food establishment employees.

To access the online food handler training, go to http://lincoln.ne.gov/ and enter “food” in the search box. This will go to the Food Safety Program Web site. Click on the “Online Food Handler Training” button to go to the registration page. The training must be completed within five days of registration.

A Serve/Clean permit (unit 1) should take about 1.5 to 2 hours to complete. A Prep/Cook Permit (units 1 and 2) should take 2 to 3 hours to complete. A Restricted/Shift Manager Permit (units 1, 2 and 3) should take about 3.5 to 4 hours to complete. Permits cost $20 each and are valid for two years.

“We know that when food handlers are knowledgeable, we find fewer violations, fewer problems, fewer situations that can cause a foodborne illness,” Jensen said. “We believe it has been successful in Lincoln in helping improve the sanitation levels in food establishments.

“Food establishments want their staff to be properly trained. Our program ensures that people who prepare food have been adequately trained in food safety and sanitation.”
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12/1/09-SK Sources: John Rupnow, Ph.D., professor, food science and technology, (402) 540-9361, jrupnow1@unl.edu
Joyce Jensen, environmental health supervisor, disease prevention, Lancaster/Lincoln Health Department, (402) 441-8033, jjensen@lincoln.ne.gov
permit.1 Writer: Sandi Alswager Karstens, IANR News Service, (402) 472-3030, salswager2@unl.edu

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