Residents of Yukon should contact
Environmental Health Services – Health and Social Services,
Government of Yukon
environmental.health@gov.yk.ca
867-667-8391
Certificates
Is a FOODSAFE certificate required for my job?
Refer to the BC Public Health Act: Food Premises Regulation on our Take a course page.
How will I receive my certificate?
FOODSAFE and MarketSafe certificates are issued by British Columbia's Regional Health Authorities.
- If you take FOODSAFE Level 1, FOODSAFE Level 2, or MarketSafe in BC, your certificate will be issued by the Health Authority in the community where you live. Find your local Health Authority contact.
- If you take the Level 1 Refresher course in BC, your certificate will be issued by the Fraser Health Authority.
- If you live outside of BC and take a FOODSAFE or MarketSafe online course through Open School BC, your certificate will be issued by the BC Branch of the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (CIPHI).
ProcessSafe certificates are issued electronically and are received by e-mail after you have successfully completed the course.
How long will my certificate take to arrive?
If you haven't received your certificate 4-6 weeks after completing your course, contact the Health Authority responsible for issuing your certificate.
If you require immediate confirmation that you passed the FOODSAFE Level 1 exam before you receive your certificate, be sure to ask your instructor for a Temporary FOODSAFE Level 1 Certificate before you leave the class.
If you take the FOODSAFE Level 1 course online and pass the exam, you will be able to print your own Temporary certificate.
ProcessSafe Certificates are e-mailed within 48 hours of successful completion of the course.
Does my FOODSAFE certificate expire?
| Certificate | Expiration Date |
|---|---|
| FOODSAFE Level 1 or FOODSAFE Level 1 Refresher | 5 years after issued (date is indicated on your certificate) |
| FOODSAFE Level 2 | No expiry date at present |
| MarketSafe | No expiry date at present |
| ProcessSafe | No expiry date at present |
Why didn’t I receive my ProcessSafe certificate by e-mail?
Upon successful completion of the ProcessSafe course, your certificate will be automatically e-mailed to you within 48 hours. If you did not receive your certificate, it may be for one of the following reasons:
- Your e-mail address was entered incorrectly when you registered at Open School BC;
- firewalls set up on your individual computer or computer network may be prohibiting the e-mail from going into your inbox. We recommend you check your junk e-mail box to see if the e-mail was redirected. If not, please contact the FOODSAFE Secretariat.
I lost my certificate. Can I get a replacement?
For FOODSAFE Level 1, Level 2 or MarketSafe, you may request a replacement certificate by contacting any Health Authority office in the province.
For ProcessSafe electronic certificates, please contact the FOODSAFE Secretariat.
Who can I contact with questions about my certificate?
Each Regional Health Authority has a FOODSAFE contact specific to certificates. Select your region on the map below to view their contact information.
I took a different food safety training course (in BC or Canada). Is my certificate equivalent to B.C.’s FOODSAFE Level 1?
The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) determines FOODSAFE Level 1 program equivalencies. For information on food safety training in BC, including a list of equivalencies, please visit http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/food-your-health/food-safety/food-safety-training.
If a course is not on the BCCDC list, it is not considered equivalent. If you require further information on this matter, please contact the BCCDC as indicated on their webpage.
Courses
How do I register for a course?
Registration links are available from the individual course pages. See Take a course.
How do I pay for a course?
Payment options are explained on the course provider's registration page.
How long will my course take?
| Classroom | Online | Correspondence | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FOODSAFE Level 1 | 8 hours | up to 20 days | up to 6 months |
| Level 1 Refresher | n/a | up to 14 days | n/a |
| FOODSAFE Level 2 | 12 hours (2 days) | up to 28 days | n/a |
| MarketSafe | 6.5 hours | up to 10 days | n/a |
| ProcessSafe | n/a | up to 4 weeks | n/a |
| Food Microbiology | n/a | up to 3 months | n/a |
How do I contact my course provider?
If you registered for a classroom course, contact information is available on the course search page. If you registered for an online course, contact Open School BC. If you registered for a correspondence course, contact go2HR.
Can I book multiple seats or schedule a group training for my employees/volunteers?
Yes, multiple seats in a course can be booked, or a group training scheduled, through the following methods:
- Take the course online through Open School BC – For Online courses please visit Open School BC for more information. If you wish to purchase a block of seats, call 1-888-883-4766.
- Take the course by distance through Go2HR – For Distance courses please visit Go2HR for more information. If you wish to purchase a block of seats, call 604-633-9787.
- Take an existing in-person class – For in-person courses, select Find a Course, choose your course name from the drop down menu and then city or health authority (note: if you can’t find any classes in your city, search by Health Authority). You may also want to contact one of these providers to see if they can provide you with a customized course for your students.
- Hire an instructor directly to teach your group – To directly hire an instructor, Select Find an Instructor, then choose the course name and either city or health authority. You will have a list of instructors who you can contact in your city or region.
- Contact your local college/university Continuing Education office or local community centre to see if they are willing to put up a FOODSAFE or MarketSafe course for your group (and others in the area).
Remember:
- All FOODSAFE and MarketSafe instructors must hold a valid instructor certificate from a BC Health Authority.
- Each course provider is independent, so the costs and specifics of the course may differ from one course provider to the next (depending on the services they need to provide, e.g. space, equipment, travel, etc.). Due to this, we recommend shopping around to find the provide that best suits your needs.
- If you need to have bilingual exams or workbooks in other languages, make sure you discuss this with the instructor ahead of time so that they can make these items available for your group.
Teaching
Who do I submit my instructor application to?
Email your completed PDF application form to your local Health Authority's general FOODSAFE contact. Find the contact for your region.
How do I access FOODSAFE and MarketSafe instructor and student learning materials?
Participant and Instructor learning materials can be purchased from Crown Publications, King's Printer (KP) Additional resources are available to instructors through the Instructor Portal.
The exam was not included with my Instructor Kit, where can I get it?
Certified FOODSAFE instructors may request the exam(s) from the Regional Health Authority that issued their instructor certificates. General contact information for each Health Authority is available by selecting the appropriate region from the map below.
Instructors Outside of BC: Contact your local government agency responsible for food safety training in your province to request FOODSAFE exams.
I am a certified FOODSAFE (or MarketSafe) instructor. How can I add my name to the "Find a FOODSAFE instructor" list?
Contact the Health Authority that issued your instructor certification. They will provide you with basic instructor login. Once you receive login, please update your profile. If you already have an account on the system and are experiencing difficulty accessing the site, please contact the FOODSAFE Secretariat at foodsafe@foodsafe.ca for assistance.
How can I list my courses on the FOODSAFE website?
Provided you already have instructor access to the instructor portal, contact the FOODSAFE Secretariat to have access to this feature for your organization. If you do not have instructor status, please ensure that this is set up prior by your Health Authority prior to requesting assistance from the FOODSAFE Secretariat.
I no longer can access the password protected site. Why?
Accounts that are inactive for one or more years are automatically deactivated. Should you need your account reactivated, please contact foodsafe@foodsafe.ca.
Does my instructor certificate expire?
Yes, all FOODSAFE instructor certificates have a five-year expiry date. To renew your instructor certification, contact your Health Authority.
Who to contact
There are FOODSAFE contacts in each of BC's Regional Health Authorities. Click on your region on the map below to view contact information for your Health Authority.
Fraser Health
Island Health
Certificate & General FOODSAFE Contacts
- Health Protection and Environmental Services foodsafe@islandhealth.ca
- Duncan 250-737-2017
Northern Health
General FOODSAFE Contact
- FOODSAFE@northernhealth.ca 250-565-7322
Interior Health
Certificate Contacts
- East Kootenay 250-420-2230
- Kootenay Boundary 250-505-7200 option 3
- Thompson 250-851-7340
- Cariboo 250-395-7676
- South Okanagan 250-770-5540, Fax 250-493-0041
- North Okanagan 250-549-5707
- Shuswap 250-833-4106
General FOODSAFE Contacts
- General Enquiries and FOODSAFE Reprints foodsafe@interiorhealth.ca
Vancouver Coastal Health
Certificate Contacts
- North Shore 604-983-6793
- Vancouver 604-675-3800
- Richmond 604-233-3147
- Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton (Sea to Sky) 604-892-2293
- Powell River 604-485-3310 ext 4524
- Sunshine Coast 604-885-5164
General FOODSAFE Contacts
- North Shore Jennifer Flor Jennifer.Flor@vch.ca
604-983-6800 - Vancouver FOODSAFE Contact ehvc@vch.ca
- Richmond Jagjeet Singh Jagjeet.singh@vch.ca 604-233-3167
- Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, Sunshine Coast,Powell River (Coast Garibaldi) healthprotectioncg@vch.ca
First Nations Health Authority
General FOODSAFE Contacts
- Vancouver Island
Karen.Larson Karen.Larson@fnha.ca 250-924-6125 ext. 110 - Northern
Patricia Knight Patricia.Knight@fnha.ca 250-645-3006 - Vancouver Coastal
Amber Lee Amber.Lee@fnha.ca 604-824-2606 - Interior Region
Bernice Debert Bernice.Debert@fnha.ca 250-851-4836 - Stevie Scott Stevie.Scott@fnha.ca 778-940-1130
