Food Safety Exam Caters to Spanish Speakers

Market Wire, June, 2006

It's important for all restaurant employees to understand safety and sanitation. But despite the fact that many non-English speakers work behind kitchen doors in almost every Texas restaurant, until very recently there's been no easy way to effectively test their knowledge of food safety.

Bridging the language gap between the Spanish speakers and the English speaking world, Learn2Serve announces the release of the first online Spanish food safety manager exam. The exam is approved by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to officially certify safe food handlers.

Learn2Serve 's exam tests the knowledge of food managers on subjects such as appropriate food temperatures, shelf life of perishable food and food contamination.

"Our goal is to serve the entire hospitality industry in Texas while ensuring the delivery of safe food to the public," said Bill Vear , VP of Hospitality at 360training. "Language shouldn't be a barrier when assessing a food manager's knowledge of sanitation procedures or issuing certifications."

Vear went on to say that the online exam -- which is based on the FDA 2005 code and compliant with the newest Texas Food Establishment Rules -- is cost effective, easily accessible and doesn't put an undue burden on business owners in ensuring compliance with the manager certification requirement.

Before the end of summer, Vear said he plans to have an online, food manager training course conducted entirely in Spanish based on the newest food code.

Texas law mandates that every restaurant have at least two certified food handlers on the premises. Certifications are valid for five years.

The DSHS was formerly known as the Texas Department of Health (TDH).

Learn2Serve is a subsidiary of 360training.

About 360training:

360training -- headquartered in Austin, Texas -- is a leading provider of e-learning technology, content and services helping organizations successfully manage all aspects of learning initiatives. The company's products and services are designed to streamline career education and compliance requirements in a wide variety of industries. For more information, visit www.360training.com .

About Learn2Serve:

Learn2Serve is a comprehensive web-based training solution powered by 360training(TM), a leading provider of government accredited online certification training courses and employer learning management and reporting systems. Learn2Serve courses are created for hotel, restaurant, bar, convenience store and grocery employees and managers. As the nation's leading provider of online alcohol seller/server and food safety manager certification training courses, Learn2Serve provides a convenient alternative to traditional classroom based instruction without compromising the quality of training. The two main components to the Learn2Serve training solution are interactivity and self-paced training. Learn more at www.Learn2Serve.com .