Brades, Montserrat — The operators of over 30 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) involved in the food service industry in Montserrat are being provided with food handling and preparation training by the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) through its Caribbean Technological Consultancy Services (CTCS) network. The training workshop began on Monday, and will run until Thursday.
The “ServSafe Food Safety Training and Certification Workshop” will equip participants with fundamental tool for improving food safety. Topics ranging from basic food safety, to cross contamination and allergies and, hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) will be discussed during the four-day workshop. ServSafe is a United States of America (USA)-based certification based on the latest US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) Food Code, and is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-Conference for Food Protection.
Edward Greene, division chief, Technical Cooperation Division, CDB noted, “One of the Bank’s strategic objectives is to promote broad-based economic growth, by providing support to private sector development aimed at enhancing the viability of MSMEs. Through this technical assistance intervention, our goal is to create a domino effect where enhanced food safety practices of the participating MSMEs will lead to increased customer base and revenues, and thereby improved livelihoods of these small entrepreneurs. This workshop also positions the MSMEs for compliance with the legislation currently being drafted by the government of Montserrat for food handlers and operators to be enacted in 2015.”
The CTCS network will work in collaboration with the Montserrat Development Corporation (MDC), which will provide on-the-ground support and logistics for mobilising the participants and coordinating the workshop activities, and the ministry of health, which will assist the participants to get up to code in their food service establishments.
The workshop will be facilitated by Julie Ann Laudat of JAL Training and Consultancy Services and Lionel Michael, chief health inspector of the ministry of health in Antigua and Barbuda.
At the end of the workshop, the ServSafe Food Protection Manager examination will be administered to participants, and test scripts will be submitted to the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation in the USA for grading. Successful participants will receive the Food Protection Manager Certificate, which is valid for a period of five years. In addition, upon completion of the workshop, participants will develop action plans with the aid of the Certified ServSafe Instructors, to upgrade the food safety practices at their establishments, which will be implemented with the assistance of the ministry of health.
This workshop is the second in the series, which was successfully piloted in Antigua and Barbuda in December 2014.