Food safety courses are for those who handle and work with food regularly, like those in the food service industry. Some are recognized by the Department and some are not.
Legislation requires that at least one person per shift must have a food safety training course. It is strongly recommend that all people on the job have this training. The certificate must be renewed every five years.
The course presented by the department's staff is based on a course developed in British Columbia in association with industry and governments. The course has been tailored for Nova Scotia. The instructors are all food safety specialists employed by Nova Scotia Environment and Public Health Inspectors certified by the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors. They are also certified as Food Safety Professionals by the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) (USA).
A special three hour version of the course is available to volunteer groups exceeding 25 people at no charge.
Food Handler Course Exemption
Dowload Document
(PDF:225k)
Registration
- Register for Food Hygiene Courses online: novascotia.ca/mybusiness
Registration Forms
- Download Food Hygiene Courses Form (PDF:186k)
- Download Replacement Certificate form (PDF:125k)
Food Hygiene courses are taught in English.
If English is not your first language, course books are also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Korean and Punjabi.
The final test is available in the following languages, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Japanese, Korean, Punjabi, Spanish and Tagalog.
Please contact your local Public Health Officer to request any of the above materials prior to your scheduled course.
Scheduled Training
Course Locations
Course locations are divided into three regions:
Online and Private Food Handler Courses
The following courses have been deemed acceptable under Section 28 of the Food Safety Regulations.