Food safety, preparation, etc: A really good set of (almost all free) articles, videos, and classes

[Mosca]

I recently took a home food preservation class at CACE, our local adult education organization. Denise Weiss, the instructor and head of CACE, sent us some links for further study. I followed those links upstream, and found a whole set of classes, articles, and videos available at The Penn State Extension Campus. (Penn State is one of the top 10agricultural colleges worldwide. If you’re ever in State College, PA, you have to get some of their ice cream.)

Some articles that I saw that would be useful for many of us:

Cooking for Crowds: a Volunteer’s Guide (A webinar, $10 fee)

Food Safety at Summer Parties

Healthy and Safe Picnics

There are dozens more that I think are worthwhile. Here is an example:

How Safe Is Your Salsa?

I wrote “mostly free” because you can actually get your food handling certification there; other classes are either graded, with tests, or live webinars.

The cost for most classes (other than license and certifications) is typically $15-$30. If you bundle classes there is a 10% discount, and if you register before May 18th you can get a 30% discount with the code FRIEND30.

[Richard Chrz]

Thank you for the links.

2 years ago i studied for and passed Wisconsin food manager certification, just for a better understanding of how to best operate in my kitchen for myself, and when hosting family - friends. in the most immune system safe health practices I could follow.

[Dan Deter]

NC State extension has a lot of good info as well. https://foodsafety.ces.ncsu.edu/

[Mosca]

Those are good! There isn’t much overlap, I’m going to read all of both sites.

[SheilaAnn]

NC State is amazing!

[Dan Deter]

SheilaAnn I certainly think so (2 degrees from NC State, plus my kid has a degree from there, and then I came back and have now been working there for 15 years)

[dubob]

Mosca,

Thanks for sharing with us.

These types of free or inexpensive courses are a definite benefit to society as a whole because 48 million Americans contract foodborne illness each year, which affects approximately 1 in 6 people. These types of courses should be part of our general primary education structure. When I went to school in the 1950's, every boy AND girl had to take a 'Cooking' class. It was one of the most fun classes I took. It contained a lot of good information about proper handling and preparation of food for consumption.

A couple years ago, when my bride was in an assisted living facility, I had to take the state required on-line course & exam to get a food handlers certification before I would be allowed to help the facility staff serve the meals to the residents. The cost was only $10 and the cert was good for 3 years.

[Purc]

Before moving to Texas, I took several food safety and disaster relief courses so I could volunteer with The Salvation Army. Great knowledge to have.

[dpearce]

Thanks Mosca

Here's Ohio's version of the certification, along with some links at the side of the page for what I would call, general info:

https://odh.ohio.gov/know-our-programs/food-safety-program/food-safety-certification/

Full disclosure, I have not read through all of the information found there, but just read some topics in general, awhile back.

The Healthy and Safe Picnic article you linked reminded me, we always had a bar of soap in a plastic bag, some clean towels, and a "wash/rinse jug" of clean water we took with us to the state parks when we grilled out.

[Manxman]

Excellent post, resources such as these are invaluable.

Given I make a few food items such as fish based pates and cured / smoked meat and fish products for either barter or as gifts to friends and family I felt almost obligated to do a food safety certificate (Food Safety and Handling for Manufacturers) online course here in the UK.

Anything that enhances food safety has got to be a good thing and there seems to be plenty of resources available on both sides of the pond.

[SheilaAnn]

This is so cool! If you are looking for FHC certificates, be sure to check your own state, even your own county.