Online Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate Course

A Level 2 food hygiene certificate shows you have been trained to handle food safely at work, and this online Level 2 food safety course for catering gets you one in about 3 hours. It covers keeping food safe day to day, what makes food unsafe, how to stop it happening and what the law expects of you as a food handler. It is the qualification most catering employers ask new starters to get and our most popular food hygiene course, and as an e-learning course you can do it on a phone, tablet or computer whenever suits you.

What the Level 2 food safety course covers

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• Identify the four types of food safety hazard (microbiological, chemical, physical and allergenic) and explain why and how to control contamination
• Describe safe handling and preparation, including how to chill, freeze, defrost, cool, cook, reheat and hot-hold and check critical temperatures
• Explain safe food storage, preservation, stock control and traceability, and the difference between Best Before and Use By dates
• Describe your responsibilities as a food handler, including personal hygiene and hand washing
• Explain why cleaning and disinfection, pest control and waste control matter, and how premises and equipment should be designed to keep food safe
• Describe the principles of a food safety management system, the law on food safety and the role and powers of enforcement officers

Who this Level 2 food hygiene course is for

The course suits you whatever part of catering you work in, including catering assistants, chefs and kitchen porters in restaurants, cafes, takeaways, pubs, hotels and B&Bs, schools, colleges and nurseries, care homes, canteens, home caterers and home bakers. We also recommend it if you prepare, serve or sample products on a stand at a trade show, exhibition or other event, as organisers often ask for proof of training for everyone working on your stand.

What UK food safety regulations say about training

If you run a food business, UK food law asks food business operators to make sure food handlers are “supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters commensurate with their work activity” (Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Annex II, Chapter XII). GOV.UK adds that you must be able to show your staff have the right skills and up-to-date training for their role, and that you should keep a record of the training to show during an inspection (GOV.UK, staff training). Food handlers do not have to hold a certificate, but one in each person’s name is the simplest record you can keep, and it is what an environmental health officer (EHO) will usually ask about.

Why food hygiene training matters in practice

Food poisoning is common, and most of it is preventable. The Food Standards Agency estimates around 2.4 million cases of foodborne illness in the UK each year, with about 222,000 GP visits and 16,400 hospital admissions (FSA Research and Evidence). The course targets the everyday habits behind it, such as food left out of the fridge too long, raw and ready-to-eat food stored together, hands not washed, or allergen information that does not match the dish. It gives your staff the knowledge to prepare food and serve food safely to the standards an officer expects, and to understand the checks in your own food safety plan or the Food Standards Agency Safer Food, Better Business pack.

Trained staff also help your food hygiene rating. Officers rate a food business from 0 to 5 on three things, and the third is how you manage food safety, including your processes and training. To get the top rating of 5 you need to do well in all three (FSA food hygiene rating guidance).

How the online training course works

This is online training, so once you have paid you get course access straight away. The course material is 10 short video units, covering temperature control, allergens and food labelling, cleaning and the rest of the syllabus, and the whole course takes about 3 hours. There is no time limit, so you can complete it in one sitting or spread it over a few days. Your progress is saved each time you stop, and each unit has a short quiz so you can check what you have learned before moving on.

Assessment and your certificate

At the end there is an online assessment. The pass mark is 80%, and if you do not pass first time you can retake it as many times as you need at no extra cost. Your certificate is ready to download the moment you pass, so you can show it to a manager, an organiser or an inspecting officer the same day.

The course is endorsed by the Institute of Hospitality and matches the CIEH and RSPH syllabus. It was designed and is presented by a Chartered Environmental Health Officer, has been reviewed by Environmental Health Officers and is accepted by local authorities.

Level 2 food safety training for a team

Buy every place in one order and the price per person drops automatically as you add places. £30.00 + VAT a place for 1 to 4 people, falling to £23.00 from 25 people. A team of 10 costs £250.00 + VAT. After checkout you give the places out by email from My team. Each person gets their own login, and a certificate in their own name when they pass, and you can see who has finished and download them all in one place.

Food hygiene level 1, 2 or 3, which do you need?

If you prepare, serve or handle open food, this is the course you need. Pick the level that matches the work each person does.

• Level 1. Best for staff in low-risk roles who only handle wrapped food, such as some front of house or stock room jobs. We do not offer a Level 1 course.
• Level 2 (this course). Best for anyone who prepares, cooks, serves, sells or samples open food, including stand staff at trade shows and events.
• Level 3. Best for supervisors, managers, head chefs and whoever runs the food safety plan. Our Level 3 Food Hygiene and Safety for Catering course builds on this one and adds HACCP and the supervisor’s role.

How we compared the levels

We matched each level to the job it is written for and to what the syllabus adds at each step, using the two training duties in food hygiene law. Food handlers need training in line with their work, and whoever develops or runs your HACCP-based procedures needs adequate training in HACCP principles (Regulation (EC) No 852/2004).

Useful reading: how long a Level 2 certificate lasts, how to get a food hygiene certificate in the UK and our guide to training for stand staff.