Food banks and their agencies operate to meet an important need in our communities. They exist to provide adequate amounts of nutritious food to those who do not have the means to obtain it themselves.
In partnership with Alberta Health Services, a version of the Safe Food Handling course designed exclusively for the use of food banks in the province of Alberta, is offered to all Food Banks Alberta members. This course takes the place of the Safe Food Handling requirement mandated by the Government of Canada.
As food banks provide an essential service in their communities by providing nutritious food to vulnerable people, we need to distribute food items quickly and safely. Food banks need to be confident that the food or products our clients receive from us is safe for consumption.
The prevention of food-borne illnesses and use of best practices is a responsibility of all members and all food banks under federal and provincial public health laws. This course provides information and best practices to reduce the risk and prevent potential food contamination and risk of illness for our clients. When the course is completed, the user will receive a certificate of completion.
Additionally, there are 2 guides from Food Banks Canada located in our member database that are readily available for members: Safe Food Handling Guidelines and Food Shelf-Life.
‘Best Before’ dates are a guideline and most food can be safely distributed after this date.