New food-safety course launches at Niagara College

Mississauga, Ont. – SGS Canada Inc. and the Canadian Food & Wine Institute at Niagara College will team up to offer a risk-focused approach to food-safety training.

The Food Safety Program Optimization (FSPO) is designed to target risk reduction and provide the tools to students to demonstrate true risk-based diligence, SGS Canada said in a news release.

The partnership is part of the Canadian Food & Wine Institute’s new continuing education program called Expert Edge.

“This new program focuses on delivering hands-on training led by true industry professionals,” said Jeffrey Steen, manager of corporate training at Niagara College, in the release. “We have a unique proposition to those seeking to take their careers to the next level in the fields of risk management, auditing and supply chains dealing with food, wine and beer.”

Those enrolled in the program will work towards a number of certificates each addressing the needs of the industry and the variety of sector specific needs within that industry (Bakery, Brewing, Foodservice). The program offers a wide variety of courses, small classes and flexible hours.

“What makes this approach to training so incredibly valuable is that you are taking a leader in academia dealing with food, wine and beer and joining forces with the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company,” said Rob Sinyard, vice-president of certification and business enhancement at SGS Canada. “We are convinced that we need to prepare students to walk out of the classroom with not just the training to work locally, but provide them with a global perspective to the challenges of feeding a growing world population.”

Niagara College is home to Canada’s first teaching brewery and commercial teaching winery, along with a full-service teaching restaurant that focuses on local and seasonal cuisine.

Craig Youdale, Dean of The Canadian Food & Wine Institute, summed up the value of these partnerships to the college, “We are shaping the future of the Canadian food industry with corporate partners of this calibre.”

To learn more about the program, visit the institute’s website.