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Level 2 Food Safety & Hygiene

This Virtual College Level 2 Food Hygiene course has been updated to cover all the latest UK food safety and hygiene training requirements. Level 2 Food Hygiene is designed for anyone who works with, or handles food and covers an introduction to food safety and hygiene, the impact of food-borne illnesses, food law, food preservation, storage and temperature control, personal hygiene, and the principles of HACCP.

This course was reviewed and updated on 20th November 2023

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Course Overview

Format

  • Level 2
  • 2-3 Study Hours
  • Online Study
  • Self-Printed or Posted Certificate

Accreditation

  • 2-3 CPD Hours
  • Meets UK / EU Food Handlers Training Requirements
  • RoSPA Assured

Course description

Our food safety and hygiene course is perfect for anyone who works with, or handles food, and wants to meet the UK food training requirements.

Our popular Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene course has been re-designed and includes all the latest legislation, information and up-to-date guidance.

We also offer Level 2 Food Hygiene for: Catering | Manufacturing | Drinks Manufacturers | Retail.

If you are a Supervisor, Manager, Business Owner or Team Leader working with or handling food we would recommend you complete our RoSPA Assured Level 3 Food Safety and Hygiene for Supervisors course.

It is important for anyone who works with, or handles, food to be aware of the latest food safety and hygiene standards, and our online course is the ideal way to meet them.

This Level 2 Food Hygiene course is aimed at anyone who works with, or handles, food at events such as bake sales, charity events or church fêtes.

It covers all the topics you need to know to comply with UK’s food standards including how to store and freeze food safely, how to clean and disinfect equipment, the importance of pest control, the food laws, food allergens and much more.

Overall, it will help build your confidence to ensure the safety of both you and your customers.

We are delighted to announce that our popular Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene has been re-designed. Not only does it have a design that is modern and meets accessibility standards, but it has also been restructured to create a journey that better fits your needs.

Our courses are designed with the learner in mind and this course is no different. To ensure it can easily fit into your schedule, it is broken down into bite-sized chunks which can be worked through in any order and at any time, ensuring that you can tailor the training to your needs and go at your own pace.

Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene Certificate

The content of this food and hygiene level 2 course is RoSPA Assured. Upon successful completion, learners will receive a digital RoSPA Assured Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene Certificate with the option to updgrade to receive a high quality posted certificate too.

Course duration

Our Level 2 Food Hygiene course will take approximately 2-3 hours to complete. As an e-learning module, this training can be completed in convenient stages. The system will automatically record your progress throughout.

Target audience

This food hygiene level 2 course has been designed for anyone who works with or handles food in any workplace setting such as schools, restaurants, cafes, bars, nurseries and many, many more.

Entry requirements

There are no specific entry requirements for this Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene course.

Test and Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate

The end of course test consists of 30 multiple choice questions. Learners are required to achieve a 75% pass mark, and, if necessary, may attempt the test six times at no extra cost.

If learners do not achieve the 75% pass mark, further attempts may be given by contacting our learner support team.

Upon completing the food hygiene course, learners will be able to download a digital food hygiene RoSPA assured certificate from Virtual College. If you have bought the posted food hygiene certificate option, a high quality, seal embossed, certificate will be sent out the following working week after completion. 

This certification is universally recognised and can be used to provide evidence of food hygiene and safety training both internally and to external auditors. 

There is no set time for how long a certificate is valid for, but the accepted industry standard is for food hygiene certificates to be renewed every three years. However, some employers may require you to renew your certification more frequently than this.

This online food hygiene course is not a formal RQF food safety & hygiene qualification, the levels only indicate the type of food and hygiene course so that businesses can choose whom it is suitable for.

You will learn

  • An introduction to food safety and hygiene
  • The impact of food-borne illnesses
  • Understanding food law
  • Food safety hazards and contamination
  • Food preservation, storage and temperature control
  • Personal Hygiene
  • Hygienic premises and equipment
  • HACCP

Who is it for?

Roles including:

  • Anyone who works with, or handles, food
  • Anyone who manages staff in a food environment

Legislation

Legislation covered in this course includes:

  • The Food Safety Act 1990
  • EC Regulations and UK Regulations

Level 2 Food Safety & Hygiene FAQs

  • How long is a Level 2 food hygiene certificate valid for UK?

    While there is no expiry date on food hygiene certificates, it is widely recognised within the industry that renewal should take place every three years. Some employers, however, may require their staff to renew their certifications every year as part of their ongoing workplace training.

    Food employers have the freedom to decide when they feel a refresher course is necessary for their workforce. Usually re-training occurs when there has been a change in food legislation or technical developments in food hygiene.

    Read more here.

  • Is Level 2 food hygiene compulsory?

    Level 2 Food Safety online training is required for anyone who works in a catering, manufacturing, or retail setting where food is prepared, cooked, and handled. Employers are responsible for identifying which employees need food hygiene training and providing them with this training, whether it’s in person or online. Failure to do so could result in legal consequences, so it’s always better to give everyone relevant training to make sure you’re covered and seen to be complying.

    Read more here.

  • What is a Level 2 food hygiene?

    Level 2 Food Hygiene is designed for anyone who works with, or handles food and covers an introduction to food safety and hygiene, the impact of food-borne illnesses, food law, food preservation, storage and temperature control, personal hygiene, and the principles of HACCP. This certification is universally recognised and can be used to provide evidence of food hygiene and safety training both internally and to external auditors.

How the online courses work

  • Buy the course

    When buying one of our courses, you will need to enter a valid email address which will be used to create your account with our Learning Management System – Enable – where you will take the training. We will also send your purchase receipt to this email address, and any additional courses purchased in future using the same email address will be added to your system account.

    Once you have purchased a course, you will be able to send this course to other people using your system account with Enable by entering the new learner’s email address so that they may access the training and set up their own system account with our Learning Management System.

    If you are not 100% satisfied with your course then we offer a 30-day, no hassle money-back guarantee. To request a refund, you should email our learner support team with your receipt stating why you would like to be reimbursed. You, or your learners, must not have completed the training in order to make a valid refund claim. Any claim made after the training has been completed will be invalidated.

  • Find a course

    To begin searching for your online training you can click on the course category section on our website and browse through all of our training categories.

    Alternatively if you already know the title of the training you’re looking for you can use the search bar located in the centre of the homepage and go directly to the course you want.

  • Take the course

    This online course consists of a series of pages in which an instructor will talk learners through the lesson material. Pages may include supporting pictures, graphs, animation or extra sounds to help with the learning where appropriate. Some lessons will include challenges/quizzes to help learners stay engaged and interested in the material. Lessons can be taken in any order and each lesson may be paused and resumed at any stage.

    The course is self-paced so learners decide how fast or slow the training goes. There is no deadline for completion but some of our courses have a test at the end to check that learners have understood the material. If the course has a test at the end then learners are required to achieve a 75% pass mark to successfully complete the course. Once learners have passed the test they are awarded a certificate, which can either be downloaded digitally or sent as a physical copy if this option was chosen when purchasing the course.

  • Your Certificate

    Upon completion of any of our courses, learners will be able to download a digital certificate from Virtual College which will include the accrediting bodies logo where applicable, the learner's name, the title of the course and the date of completion.

    If you have purchased the posted certificate option, available on selected courses, a high quality, seal embossed, certificate will be sent out the following working week after completion.