According to“Europe 2020”the improvement of quality & efficiency in education and training procedures & equality of all EU citizens in terms of quality of life”is strongly highlighted; healthy eating through safe-for-consumption meals is undeniably an important contributor to healthy lives. In this context, food-borne disease outbreaks, which are a constant public health threat, should be decreased or eliminated. Thus, all food hazards have to be appropriately managed as determined by scientifically proven meal processing. Since food hazards to a great extent are attributed to inappropriate preparation & processing and “cross contamination” phenomena, we propose that the most efficient way of dealing with the problem is to limit the problems through training food handlers (the e-SAFE target group). Nonetheless, EU & national legislation for training of employees involved in food handling is limited, as employees are obliged to attend “Food Safety/Hygiene” seminars and training courses only in the context of basic education, which does not include recent food safety developments. ; hence, there is particular need for improving related skills/knowledge to sufficiently implement all Food Hygiene/Safety Systems in food handlers daily working practices”. The e-SAFE project aims through transnational collaboration to provide modern, tailored made training to professionals working in the food preparation industry, focusing on emerging, re-emerging and persisting food hazards in meal preparation, taking also into consideration the needs created from the current coronavirus pandemic. Food handlers are front line employees that make certain that food remains available for the general public. A lot has been said concerning safety of food items in relation to COVID-19 hence the current project is even more relevant to the current situation. The specific objectives of e-SAFE are to: a) provide an innovative food hygiene and safety training program & e-learning tool on food handling/preparation focusing on the prevention of recently identified and non-widely known food hazards, b) motivate & raise compliance/adherence to safer handling/processing/storage techniques for all EU food handlers/suppliers so as to avoid potentially less known food hazards, c) create a training package that can be incorporated in similar training programs in the field of food safety/quality & exploited by VET providers & institutions in this domain. The consortium comprises 6 partners from 6 EU countries (Poland, Greece, Austria, Lithouania, Italy & Cyprus). The partnership brings together scientific and research organizations, being active in food safety/hygiene aspects & vocational training. The principle e-SAFE target group includes: • chefs, kitchen staff, food handlers, outlet managers and agri-food processing employees associated with meal production/storage/distribution:30 food handlers attending the face-to-face blended mobility seminar; ≥120 food handlers attending distance learning (e-learning platform, pilot testing); • Policy makers & relevant stakeholders:>190 subjects (i.e. professionals, leaders in food industries, policy makers) attending the Info Days. The methodology of e-SAFE is organized as following: 1. Conceptual framework for training chefs, kitchen staff & food handlers, through review of educational and training opportunities around Europe and a questionnaire survey evaluating food handlers’ knowledge gaps and needs. 2. Training curriculum Methodology to guide the development of the training modules and material, including the training objectives, description of each training unit, means of acquiring knowledge, duration of theoretical and practical training hours, etc. 3. e-SAFE Training package development, including modules on food safety, hygiene and quality aspects and their health impact, as well as emerging/re-emerging and persistent food hazards etc. (70% practical assignments - 30% theoretical inputs). 4. e-learning platform, a virtual learning environment with all the modules adapted in the previous section, providing additional learning opportunities and accommodating transportation difficulties, needs and hectic schedules of the target group 5. Guidance and recommendations for VET trainers on how to implement the gained knowledge Expected results include i) review of the educational and training opportunities around Europe, ii) assessment of the current food handling knowledge and needs, iii) development of an innovative training tool based on interactive/motivational educational techniques suitable for adults to deliver skills and competences to the target group through face-to-face and e-learning platform. e-SAFE aims at increasing knowledge, capacity building and raising awareness among food handlers on food hazards, widely affecting public health.
By implementing the project, the consortium primarily aimed to: a. To provide an innovative food hygiene/safety training program and e-learning tool, particularly in food handling/preparation, focusing on the prevention of recently identified and commonly unknown food hazards. b. Increase adherence to safer and sanitary food handling/preparation techniques (i.e., baking/frying temperatures, frequent change of oils/fats during frying, prevention of food allergies) for all individuals to avoid potentially ignored food hazards. c. Create a training package suitable for adult training that can be incorporated into similar training programs and used by VET providers and institutions in the field.
The main need for which we have applied is improper food handling, which is considered to be a major cause of foodborne illness outbreaks, so the preparation and delivery of safe meals by well-trained food staff is highly desirable. Despite stringent EU food safety legislation, relevant mandatory training for staff involved in food handling is limited. To work in the food service industry, the only prerequisite is to attend short seminars on food safety and hygiene, which happen to require payment. The seminars present general principles of safe food handling (e.g. an introduction to HACCP and its prerequisites), which are presented in a general context without further reference to food hazards that are not generally recognized. The project was developed, in response to the need to provide relevant innovative training that is tailored to the contemporary needs of personnel working in the food service sector. The project was focused on food hazards that occur during food preparation.