ServSafe® & ServSafe Alcohol™ Programs

Alexa Bosshardt is a registered instructor and proctor for the National  Restaurant Association’s ServSafe® and ServSafe Alcohol™ programs. Statistics from the Center for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov) estimate that 76 million people in the United States alone suffer some sort of foodborne illness per year. On an annual basis over 300.000 of those people are hospitalized and approximately 5,000 die.

According to a 3/3/2010 article in the Tampa Tribune, foodborne illnesses cost the state of Florida about $10 billion annually in medical and other losses, including quality of life losses. In addition, a single foodborne illness can cost an individual restaurant thousands of dollars and possibly temporary or even  permanent closure. A foodborne illness outbreak involving numerous guests can be potentially financially devastating.

Florida State Food Safety Code requires that any restaurant facility have at least one certified manager. There must be one certified manager per shift, when four or more employees are present at an establishment. Certification  must be renewed every five years.

ServSafe® training for all shift responsible managers can be completed in 8 hour or 16 hour classes and includes a certification exam at the end of each course.

ServSafe Alcohol™ training features information essential for every bar manager, bartender or server, including alcohol laws and responsible service guidelines, how to evaluate levels of intoxication, dealing with difficult patrons and identifying valid personal identification to insure a guest is of a legal drinking age.

ServSafe Alcohol™ training can be completed  in 4, 4 1/2 or 6 hour classes and includes a certification exam at the end of each course.

For more information visit www.servsafe.com