Food Safety and Jobs in the Food and Beverage Market

Posted: Wednesday, December 28th, 2011
Category: Alcohol & Food Safety, Food handler, Food Safety

As unbelievable as it may seem, it has taken the U.S. government over 10 years to put in place the first major change in food-safety laws since the last revamp was made in the 1930s! This after a long, heaving series of food-borne illness outbreaks, panic, and deaths. Finally last January, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama. Now, food safety—and consequently, food safety training and food handler certification—is first of mind for both health authorities and those in the food and drink industry.

The new law requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue standards for safe agricultural products (such as melons and tomatoes) and mandates more frequent inspections of domestic and foreign food-processing facilities. The FSMA also equips the FDA with new enforcement capabilities, such as mandatory recall authority and the right to recall the registration of an erring processing plant.

According to the FDA, all establishments now that handle foods with a high potential to cause harm must be inspected within five years of the law’s enactment and at least every three years after that. The FDA also said that the law dramatically increases the number of required inspections for foreign facilities.

Meanwhile, the job market in the industry is looking up. That, in a nutshell, is what National Restaurant Association chief economist Bruce Grindy said of the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that eating and drinking places created 24,500 new jobs in December 2010, the fifth straight month of employment growth at a time when other industries are distressed. Eating and drinking places, as the primary components of the industry, constitute three-fourths of the restaurant and food-service workforce.

Last year, restaurants boosted the national employment with 188,000 jobs—a stark contrast to the 2008-2009 span when the industry shed a total of 294,000 jobs.

Grindy also noted that the DoL data also showed the national unemployment rate slipping to 9.4 percent in December from 9.8 percent in the previous month. Significantly, the drop represented the biggest single-month drop in more than 12 years.

According to industry insiders this signifies that restaurants are hiring again and new restaurants are opening in most of the major dining areas. Good news of course for those who want to pursue a career in the food and drink industry. For quick employment, one of the keys is to be certified in food safety, which happens to be a core program at Learn2serve.com, the premier provider of online food safety training, alcohol server certification, and food handler certification. These courses directly address the current requirements of a food industry that constantly needs to guard against illness outbreaks caused by food-borne pathogens.