Food Education Courses

Those employees at licensed food establishments that cook food, prepare or handle food, or that wash dishes or clean food contact equipment are required to complete an approved food education course.

1. All managerial and supervisory employees must have taken and passed a course prior to performing any supervisory tasks in the establishment.
2. All regular employees at non-seasonal food establishments must take and pass a course within 30 days of the date when they begin working in the establishment.
3. Seasonal employees (those that work seasonally at a non-seasonal food establishment or those that work at a seasonal or temporary food establishment) or any employee at a mobile food establishment must take and pass a course prior to performing any food handling tasks in the establishment.

Approved Food Education Courses

A food education course must be reviewed and approved by the FDHU prior to being accepted for fulfilling the food education course requirement.  Below, find the current list of approved food education courses.  If an individual wishes to use a food education course that is not on the following list, they must submit the course to the FDHU for review.   FDHU recommends that this be done prior to taking the course, as their is no guarantee that any individual course will be approved for meeting this requirment.  Also, be aware that there are food education courses available on the internet that claim to be approved for North Dakota, when they actually have not been approved.  The only approved courses are those that are listed on this page.

1. The First District Health Unit Food Safety for Food Service Employees course.
2. ServSafe Food Handler course: https://www.servsafe.com/
3. Tacoma-Pierce County Do It Right, Serve It Safe!:  https://www.foodworkercard.wa.gov/
4. StateFoodSafety: https://www.statefoodsafety.com/

Submitting a Food Education Course Approval Request.

If an individual wishes to have a food education course added to the list of approved courses, they must submit the following to FDHU for approval:

1. The name of the course and the course instructor;
2. The name of the organization that is sponsoring or hosting the course;
3. Contact information for the instructor and host; and
4. As much information as possible regarding the content of the course.

If an individual wishes to get approval for a course that they have already taken, but that does not appear on the approved courses list, they must:

1. Provide the information found in 1 through 3 above;
2. Detail the date, time and duration of the course they took; and
3. Provide a complete description of the course including the topics covered, complete copies of all texts, resources and supplemental materials used in the class, and any other information deemed necessary by FDHU to complete an evaluation of the course.
4. Be aware that there is no requirement for the FDHU to approve any food education course, and so any course approval request may be denied.  Also, simply submitting a course for approval does not negate the requirement for any food employee to havie taken and passed an approved food education course.

For questions regarding approval of a food education course, or to begin the process of getting a course approved, contact Jayme Calavera at jcalavera@nd.gov or at 837-5119.

The First District Health Unit Food Safety for Food Service Employees Course.

Food Safety for Food Service Employees classes will resume at First District Health Unit beginning July 7, 2020 with the following conditions:

1. Participants will be REQUIRED to pre-register for all classes.  Click here to register online.  Due to social disstancing requirements during the Covid-19 pandemic, walk-ins will not be accepted.  If you are experiencing difficulty with the online registration process, please call 852-1376 extension 3.
2. Credit card payments may only be made while registering at the link above.  Only payments made with cash or check will be accepted onsite.
3. All class attendees will be required to wear face coverings/face masks.  Coverings and masks will NOT be provided.
4. Participants will be required to social distance while participating in the classes.  Any floor markings, assigned seating positions, or directions given by instructors must be followed.

Since 2006, the FDHU Food Safety For Food Service Employees course has been used to meet the requirement for food employee food education in the First District Health Unit.  Individuals that pass the FDHU course receive a card that is valid for three years.  The training can be obtained by either attending a live class, by viewing the FDHU Food Safety Training DVD, or by watching the online version.

Cost.

Food Safety for Food Services Employees class, including test:                 $10.00

Food Safety for Food Services Employees DVD (does not include test)     $10.00  

Food Safety for Food Services Employees, test only (this option only 

           available for those persons that have watched the DVD or

           online version of the training):                                                           $10.00    

Replacement card:                                                                                        $5.00    

2020 Food Safety Course Schedule:

FDHU Food Safety For Food Service Employees Minot Course Schedule*:

To register online, click here.

If less than five people pre-register for any session by noon the day before, the session will be cancelled. 

*Classes are held in the First District Health Unit Conference Center (801 11th Ave SW, Minot, ND).  Please enter through Door B.  Additional sessions (evenings or weekends) may be made available as needed.

Calendar of other approved food education courses:

No other courses scheduled at this time.

DVD/ONLINE COURSES

ATTENTION: We are now scheduling Food Handlers Testing in all FDHU locations.  During this time, it is required you schedule an appointment and you must be wearing a face-covering/mask when entering the building. If you do not have an appointment, you will not be able to test so please call in advance.  Call our Minot office at 837-5121 for more information.

DVD VERSION

For those who cannot attend a live class, a DVD containing the entire food safety seminar is available to purchase for $10.00. 

Once an employee has viewed the DVD, they will need to contact the Environmental Health Division to set up an appointment to take the test.  Employees of food establishments outside of Minot may obtain the DVD or make an appointment to take the test at the local First District Health Unit  County Nurse office.

ONLINE VERSIONS

Food Safety for Food Service Employees:

This is the food safety course that is valid for any food employee at any food establishment licensed by FDHU. 

After watching all eight parts, an appointment must be made to take the test by calling the Minot office, or at the local First District Health Unit County Nurse office.

As of January 1, 2019 the online version has changed.  If an individual watched the online version prior to that date, the information they viewed and the test code they received are no longer valid.  Those watching the online version after that date will receive a new test code that they will be required to present prior to taking the test at any FDHU office.

Part 1: Foodborne Illness Part 1

Part 2: Foodborne Illness Part 2

Part 3: Handwashing

Part 4: Bare Hand Contact

Part 5: TCS Food Preparation

Part 6: Food Ordering and Storage

Part 7: Employee Practices

Part 8: Floors, Walls, & Ceilings

Food Safety Training for non-English Speaking Food Employees:

For those food employees that do not speak English, an approved food safety training is available in Spanish, Korean, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Cambodian.  Prior to taking the course, contact the FDHU inspector for your establishment to confirm that you will be using this course to meet the food safety education requirement.

https://www.foodworkercard.wa.gov/

Food Safety In Temporary Establishments:

This is the food safety class that is only valid for food employees at temporary food establishments.  This course is only valid for employees at those establishments that operate for 14 days or less at a single event.  If you have any questions about whether this course will fulfill your food education requirement, contact the Minot office and speak to an inspector.

After watching all four parts, an appointment must be made to take the test by calling the Minot office.

Food Safety in Temporary Establishments Part 1.

Food Safety in Temporary Establishments Part 2.

Food Safety in Temporary Establishments Part 3.

Food Safety in Temporary Establishments Part 4.

There will be live classroom presentations of the Food Safety in Temporary Establishments on the following days:

None scheduled at this time.

ND State Fair and Hostfest Food Safety Classes

The Food Safety in Temporary Establishments course is taught on site on the Thursday before the opening day of the North Dakota State Fair and on the Tuesday before the opening day of the Hostfest.  The classes are located in the atrium on the second floor of the ND State Fair Center (across from the ticket offices).  Just a reminder, all food employees (including those that are volunteers) that work at food establishments at the ND State Fair and at the Hostfest are required to have food safety cards prior to performing any tasks, and must have those cards on their person at all times while in the food establishment.

Certified Food Protection Manager

Beginning January 1, 2019, certain food establishments located in the First District Health Unit will be required to have a person in charge at all times that has taken and passed an approved Certified Food Protection Manager course.  This requirement will apply to all establishments that are: 1) classified as risk level 2 or higher, and that 2) have 10 or more food employees.  All establishments that begin operations after the date of adoption of the new food regulations are required to meet this requirement immediately.  All establishments that were in operation prior to the date of adoption of the new food regulations will have until January 1, 2020 to come into full compliance.

The following courses are approved for meeting this requirement:

National Registry of Food Safety Professionals

Learn2Serve

Prometric

ServSafe

StateFoodSafety.com

More information about accredited programs and for the most current list, click this link: ANSI.