HACCP training online

• HACCP training online is a learning tool used to teach food handlers about the importance, principles, and implementation of the state-of-the-art approach of the HACCP food safety program through an online platform.
• HACCP training online, self-paced course programs gives you the advantage of doing the program at your speed.
• HACCP training is an essential tool for food management professionals and food employees in ensuring the safety of your consumers.

This article goes through the benefits of HACCP training online and how much it costs. It will give you a good understanding of how HACCP training online can help you!

What is HACCP training online?

HACCP training online is a type of basic food safety training built to educate food handlers and food safety managers about managing food hazards and how to make a HACCP food safety management system through online learning. Especially in times like a pandemic where movements and traveling are very limited while alarming statistics on foodborne illnesses are still present, access to information becomes limited as well.

Luckily, accredited institutions are offering great alternative assistance for food safety to educate food preparers about the HACCP food safety plan and how to make it an effective preventive approach to food safety.

The successful completion of an online HACCP food handler safety training course offers the advantage of getting the necessary information about HACCP-making and basic food safety issues at the comfort of your chosen location. Anyone operating in a food manufacturing facility including mobile food vendors, food preparers, frontline food safety personnel, and food warehouse staff can take this type of training. 

HACCP training online programs are widely available and offered by certification institutions and food safety training companies. These programs may vary in the content, target audience, credit hours, and level of food safety exam for a different food manufacturing facility. Different industries may have particular requirements and HACCP plan specifics based on standardized food safety laws and regulations. In addition, your certificate of completion will serve as proof of your focused approach towards food safety.

Seafood HACCP training online

An example of a very specific online HACCP training is the program built for manufacturers in the seafood industry and fishery products. As a mandate by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the US, seafood businesses must implement their seafood HACCP safety program. Online programs accredited by the National Seafood Alliance ensure training on the application of HACCP principles to seafood products including understanding the related biological, chemical, and physical hazards related to this industry.

These HACCP food safety training course programs include the application of the HACCP seven steps seafood companies must follow as a requirement of compliance with FDA regulations for safe consumption of seafood for consumers.

Juice HACCP training online

Similar to the mandate of the United States FDA regarding the seafood HACCP plan, beverage companies that process products labeled as juice are also required to make a HACCP plan for managing food safety hazards. A well-known organization that offers specific HACCP training online for food processors mainly in the juice industry is the global, award-winning training organization, Juice HACCP Alliance.

Successful completion of this type of online HACCP training serves as a preparation stage for food processors on prerequisite processes, critical limits, monitoring procedures, preventive controls, verification procedures, and hazards related to the beverage industry and juice processing to prevent any foodborne illness from occurring.

What are the benefits of HACCP online training?

Online training has become increasingly popular in recent years, and for a good reason. Compared to more traditional training methods, online HACCP training gives you more control over the type of training, the cost, and the time of availability. There are plenty of HACCP training options and HACCP training materials available online to help you create a safer food supply and maintain safety in food establishments.

If you are hesitant about trying an online HACCP training program, here are some of the pros that you might be interested in:

• Save up on expenses. HACCP training online programs do not require you to pay for travel fees just to go to the location of your training nor will it require you to pay to fly in a food safety consultant to teach you about HACCP. You can channel your expenses into choosing the best HACCP online training program for you or your frontline food safety personnel. Additionally, some institutions even offer HACCP and food handler safety training online free of charge.
• Flexible training programs. When you choose to avail of online HACCP training services, you can always schedule when to read the modules and take the food safety examination to test your knowledge retention. You can even pause an ongoing training session and get back to it at your convenient time. You can fulfill all training requirements as long as you finish all allotted credit hours within the provided time limit. In addition to being online, self-paced course programs let you do it in the comfort of your home!

• Specialized courses where you can choose from. HACCP and food handler safety training courses consist of many different parts, and therefore will require you to learn a lot of modules for this. By opting for online HACCP training programs, you can choose which topics and scope would you want to learn at your convenience. Different institutions offer packages that consist of a wide variety of programs that can include prerequisite course requirements for certification for food handlers, whereas some also offer short programs. All programs aim to provide you with the necessary information for HACCP plan-making and create a more effective food service employee team.

HACCP training programs also serve as mandatory certification requirements for HACCP certification programs. All of these programs aim to guide food service facilities on how to keep public health safe while offering safe quality foods. Online HACCP training is a program for continuous improvement activities in your operations. After your training program, a printable certificate as proof of completion document will be provided accordingly.

How to choose the right online HACCP training?

Not everyone has the right budget to afford to send all employees of food facilities to HACCP training for food safety assurance. Based on regulations by food agencies, a priority food service facility must at least have one qualified employee who has undergone HACCP training or with complete certification training courses for food handlers for every shift. Now, the next step is to figure out how to find the best online HACCP training for your representative who needs to develop active managerial control.

In choosing an online HACCP training, consider the following factors:

• Cost. The price of every online HACCP training is dependent on the scope of the program and the affiliations of the institution with accrediting bodies such as a food safety HACCP for retail food establishments accredited by the International HACCP Alliance. Consider choosing one that is within your budget or plan which programs to get first. Alternatively, you can also try looking for free online HACCP training as some institutions offer them.
• Duration of training. Completion of the HACCP training online program can take anywhere around 20 to 32 credit hours depending on the comprehensiveness of the program with each module having one hour of content each. Training programs are usually divided into multiple sections which you can take at your convenient time.
• Scope of training. When choosing a HACCP training online program, make sure that you will get the fundamental information including:
  • such as the preliminary tasks to making a HACCP plan,
  • the 7 principles of HACCP,
  • the basic definition and types of hazard terms, 
  • prerequisite programs for food safety, and
  • the necessary documents for a HACCP plan.

Other training programs offer a more extensive scope and even include topics on food handling techniques, cleaning of a food facility, safe food sanitation, food contact materials, employee health, personnel hygiene, preparation of food, proper facility design, and other procedures for food safety. These courses may be for more advanced food industry professionals seeking certification of food managers.

• The credibility of the training program. Websites offering HACCP training online usually present their accreditation certificates on their landing pages such as recognition from the International HACCP Alliance. State-approved HACCP food safety training programs also post the credentials of the food safety professionals who will be conducting the training program. Verify if the website you are seeking training from is accredited by concerned accrediting bodies. This ensures you that the training you will be getting is guided by the most updated and standardized food safety laws and regulations.

Consider these factors and try to scout for choices when selecting a HACCP food handler training or food safety training online for your representative. Compare the benefits you can get from each training website as well as their cost and how will they contribute to creating a robust food safety culture. Pick one that you think will give you the most knowledge. The successful completion of HACCP training online is an investment you would want to take seriously.

Create your HACCP plan in 1 hour

Here are some more questions you may have in trying to figure out which HACCP training online to choose:

What is HACCP training?

HACCP training is a set of multiple programs that aim to teach food safety representatives the importance, principles, adequate controls, and implementation of a HACCP food safety plan. It also aims to educate food handlers about types of food prep contamination, signs of food spoilage, and the different hazards during food handling.

Can you do HACCP training online?

Yes. There are several websites and accredited institutions that offer online HACCP training which you can finish at the comfort of your location.

How do I become HACCP certified?

To become a HACCP-certified food service establishment, accreditation from a third-party certification provider must be conducted by a food safety auditor. To become a successful food service establishment accredited, your team must be able to show a very high level of understanding of the principles of HACCP as well as its proper implementation.

Who needs to be HACCP certified?

Based on the regulatory requirement of food agencies in the US, meat, poultry, juice, and seafood industries are required to become HACCP certified as part of their food defense program in preventing customer illness. All other food businesses must have a HACCP-based food safety system or the internationally recognized risk-based system, HARPC, in place. In the UK, all food businesses are required to become HACCP certified.

How often do you need HACCP training?

While HACCP training certificates do not expire, it is recommended to attend a new HACCP training program every 3 years for continual growth. This much time can bring significantly new updates on food safety laws and regulations from food agencies and your local health authority. As such, your establishment must update your employee's knowledge.

How much does online training cost?

As with most things, the cost of HACCP training can vary hugely. Ranging from free to up to over a thousand. It is always worth your while shopping around to make sure you choose online training suitable for your team. You can expect to pay anywhere from $30-$400 for your HACCP training per person.

Several aspects will affect the cost of your online HACCP training.

• Industry type. Depending on your specific food business type, you may need to pay more for specialized training. For example, if you are looking for juice HACCP training, the specialized training may cost you a bit more.
• Accreditation. When you decide which training your team needs, it can be helpful to opt for an accredited training provider. Pick one that can issue HACCP training certification and food safety manager certification and help you on your way to becoming fully HACCP certified. In general, these courses conducted by food safety professionals tend to be more expensive than non-accredited courses.
• Course length. Many beginner courses may only be a few hours long and cheaper. As you go through more advanced courses with more credit hours that offer more information such as different safe food processes, they can be split over several weeks. They may also have coursework and more interactive teaching with a designated hour of content, which will likely cost much more.

Free Online HACCP training

Although very limited with choices, you can get free online HACCP training from some websites. Expect that this type of training program can be very limited in terms of scope. 

You should always check to see how much your courses will cost moving forward if you wish to stay with the same provider. Many online HACCP training providers will have a cheaper introductory course, with more expensive courses as you move up the levels. Online HACCP training courses are highly recommended and can prove to be extremely valuable. But as mentioned earlier on, always make sure to shop around and see what course and price suits you!

Digital HACCP plan builder for your food business

Online HACCP training programs help you understand the key knowledge for HACCP and application guidelines as a blueprint for food safety for your business. Despite this, the actual application and operational implementation activities of your HACCP plan are different subjects.

You need to apply the preparation principles that you learned from your online training course to prevent concerns such as any foodborne illness and provide only safe quality foods. For first-time HACCP certified representatives, it's very normal to become nervous and make mistakes. It's even normal to bring in a food safety consultant to guide you and reinforce what you learned from your online HACCP training program.

MIstakes in implementing your HACCP food safety program or hiring a food safety consultant will require more payments. Doing these things minimizes the benefits that you get from your online HACCP food safety training and can be very inefficient. What if there is an easier way for you to implement your HACCP food safety program while using fewer resources and less effort? 

Introducing our built-in HACCP plan builder at FoodDocs built by food management professionals and food safety experts! Right off the bat, we'll tell you that this program will only take you an average of 1 hour to create a HACCP plan that is perfectly fit for your food business. "How," you ask? Our machine-learning system uses your answers to our basic questions about your food business to create a comprehensive HACCP plan for you.

• Our system automatically generates a complete HACCP plan inclusive of the following components:
• Well-defined hazard analyses and critical control points in your food operations.
• Detailed control measures, appropriate monitoring forms, monitoring procedures, verification activities, and critical control limits as hazard control procedures.
• Corrective action plan in case of breach of established standards.
• Complete flow diagrams and preliminary activities of your standard operating procedures.
• Get your HACCP plan in 1 hour which is 500x faster than hiring a food safety consultant.
• Get access to cloud storage which can serve as a food safety library for all of your important documents. Easily access all your documents

If you are concerned that our system might not be able to accommodate the laws and regulations from your local health authority, don't be. Our built-in HACCP plan builder accounts for all international and local food safety rules to ensure your HACCP compliance. All information automatically generated for your food business can be further customized to help you tailor your HACCP plan even more to your operations.

You can literally fill out our sign-up requirements and get HACCP compliant within an hour. You can even do it while waiting in a long line at a supermarket. Reinforce your online HACCP training learning by allowing us to guide you in making your HACCP plan and implementing it. Avail of our 14-day free trial to become HACCP compliant now and provide a high level of protection for customers.