Become a Certified Food Handler

The Certified Food Handler course is beneficial to anyone involved in food handling in the food service industry, especially owners, operators, and staff of food premises. As of July 1, 2018, the Ontario Food Premises Regulation mandated that food service premises must have at least one certified food handler or supervisor on the premise when the premise is operating.

Porcupine Health Unit (PHU) Classroom Sessions

Registration for any course is on a first-come, first-served basis. Click on the 'Register Now' link below and select the course you are interested in. Arrangements for payment must be made at the time of registration in order to hold your spot.

All courses are a one-day course running from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. unless otherwise stated. End time may vary; however, participants should be prepared to attend until as late as 5:00 p.m.

At this time, in-person French Certified Food Handler courses are only available by request, with a minimum of ten (10) participants. Other safe food handling course options for French include:

• Challenging the Food Safety exam (see below); or
• Online courses, such as In Good Hands (En Bonnes Mains)

Certified Food Handler Course

• Cost $75.00 per person.
• If you need to cancel, you must give us 24 hours notice for a credit.

Register Now

Challenging the Food Safety Exam

This option is recommended for those who have expired certification, previously taken the full course, or who have vast experience and/or knowledge of proper food safety practices. We recommend taking the course again, but it is not mandatory.

To schedule an appointment to challenge the exam, please contact the Duty Inspector at 705-267-1181 or 1-800-461-1818.

Students can also use the Food Safety Manual for self-study prior to challenging the exam. Manuals can be purchased at any Porcupine Health Unit office or downloaded at no cost from the Ministry of Health here.

Costs

• Challenging the exam: $25.00
• Food Safety Manual: $15.00

Other Safe Food Handling Courses

In addition to the Porcupine Health Unit’s food handler training program, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has recognized other programs, including an online program called "In Good Hands", and has deemed them to be equivalent to the training and certification offered by PHU.

• In Good Hands
• MOH approved food handler training and certification courses

Have a question?

If you have any questions pertaining to food handler training or would like to book a course for your workplace, please contact us at 705-267-1181, 1-800-461-1818 or by e-mail at [email protected].