9 Certifications for Every Food Safety Professional

Food safety and quality professionals obtain a plethora of certifications according to their experience and requirements of the company in which they work, according to the certification body requirements, and according to customer requirements. For food safety and quality professionals make themselves quite marketable by obtaining various certifications, but these certifications must serve a purpose, i.e., have a goal. At the end of this article there are resources in which some of these certifications may be obtained.

Let’s jump right in!

1. Proofreading Certificate: the skill of proofreading will help to ensure your written reports have clarity; a missing letter can give the wrong impression. Story time – I sent out an email detailing shift responsibilities for supervisors, and I copied the Director of Operations. Well, I forgot the letter “f” in shift – need I say more? Misspelled words, run-on sentences, unclear sentences, and misused words (e.g., do vs. due) can make the writer look really bad. Proofreading is a great skill because spellcheck does not intend to convey what the writer really wants to convey.
2. Let’s not forget that HACCP certificate. Some food safety and quality professionals don’t hold a HACCP certificate because the individuals underneath them have the certificate. God forbid the “serfs” leave - ?? what will that food safety and quality professional do? As the quality manager or higher role, please set an example and obtain a HACCP certificate. A good practice is to re-up your HACCP certificate every five (5) years. Some customers in which I’m a dedicated auditor, require that suppliers’ staff have HACCP certificates no older than five (5) years.
3. PCQI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individual), so let’s not forget about this one as well. The FDA requires food manufacturers to employ individuals with this certification to comply with FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act). PCQIs develop a facility’s food safety plan.
4. ServSafe certification is for food and beverage workers in restaurants, mainly. This certification is issued by the U.S. National Restaurant Association to prevent foodborne illnesses.
5. Cannabis certification which is a growing industry. You’ll be able to audit and inspect marijuana producers. Cannabis is used in the medical healthcare industry. I have this certificate which is a Master of Cannabis certificate which houses 10 certificates, and yes, this course is accredited.
6. GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certification. This is good for the food safety and quality auditor who audits farms, like I do on occasion, or who wants to. With this certification you can pursue more salary options.
7. To go along with GAP certification is obtaining a certification for Integrated Pest Management because one must be familiar with general pests and those that are applicable to farming. Here is a gem of a course I found through the Michigan State University Extension Service which I thought is too good to be true because the course is only $10.00. Yes, I typed $10.00. This course is worth so much more than its cost. It’s extremely robust, with twelve (12) modules, quizzes after each module, downloadable reading materials, training videos, and a certificate of completion at the end. It took me two days to take the course, and with much success! I’m interested in pursuing GAP, and a certification body asked for an IPM (Integrated Pest Management) certification in order to enter the GAP program, so I took the course.
8. Creative Writing certification. I equate this type of writing to report writing during and after an audit. Yes, this is very helpful because this type of writing helps to expand vocabulary and helps to connect the dots within the report. Ok, what is creative writing? This type of writing evokes emotions from the reader. For the food safety and quality professional this is good as storytelling within his or her report. The report will either evoke a sense of well-done concerning the facility, or the report will convey a sense of dread, meaning the facility has not done well. Yes, reports tell stories about processes, results, people/facility staff, and the efforts put into audit prep as well as overall facility operations.
9. Food Defense & Food Fraud certification is what every food safety and quality professional should have, believe it or not some do not. Did you know that the FDA offers free food defense training online with a printable certificate? How do I know because I took the course and printed out my certificate.

Now, as promised so you’ll not have to go digging for yourself for the certification resources. This is a small, but powerful, list of resources. Also, going above and beyond in obtaining knowledge in the form of certifications speaks volumes about your thirst for education. Certifications are our “objective evidence” to present to certification bodies and other organizations.

These are the names below, so perform Internet searches.

Proofreading Resources:

• Proofreading Anywhere Course
• Knowadays Proofreading Course
• Proofreading LaunchPad
• Proofreading Your Own Work
• Editing and Proofreading Masterclass (Skillshare Platform)

Cannabis Certification from Cannabis Training University

ANSI/IACET Accreditation

Cannabis Training University is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.

GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) Certification

• Cornell CALS College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• University of Georgia Extension Service
• Alison.com – Agricultural Science – Gardening, Animal Farming, and AquaCulture (these courses are free)
• Investigate Certification Bodies that are approved GAP (Good Agriculture Practices) providers. Here’s a link - GLOBALG.A.P. for Certification Bodies (globalgap.org)

IPM (Integrated Pest Management) Certification

• Michigan State University Extension Program - https://www.canr.msu.edu/courses/integrated-pest-management-academy

Creative Writing Resources

• Cousera.org
• ContinuingStudies.Stanford.edu
• Alison.com – Principles of Creative Writing (these courses are free)

Food Safety Advisor LLC