Permanent training of employees coming into contact with food is fundamentally important to any food hygiene system, through which an overall food safety strategy can be assured. Based on the question, how often and in which way should we train employees in the field of food safety? a survey comprising 100 food enterprises (57 caterers, 24 shops, 8 industrial food plants, 6 butchers and 5 distribution facilities) was conducted. In the paper, the effect of targeted training on employees´ knowledge and how this transfers into the working environment was evaluated. At first, a structured observation of positive hygiene practice principles was carried out, followed by an unannounced visit with repeated structured observation. The successful transfer of knowledge into the working environment was evaluated through the comparison of the workplace before and after targeted training. The highest level of improvement was detected in the industrial food plants, in the group of employees aged 41 to 50 years, in the group of employees who had primary education and in the group of employees who had between 22 to 28 years of work experience. Considering that the current food safety management systems are people-based, the authors emphasize the necessity that workers entering the food supply chain at various stages should be considered equivalent to other risk factors.
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