Accredited online food safety training · South Africa
Exemplar Global Recognised Training Provider
Exemplar Global Recognised Training ProviderAccredited online food safety training in South Africa, from R420, with a certificate an inspector can verify.
Self-paced online courses for the Certificate of Acceptability, for your job and for your whole team. SAATCA registered and FoodBev SETA accredited, written and led by a public health specialist. Work through the R638 courses at your own pace, download a QR-verified certificate the day you pass, and keep the training records Regulation 10(1)(d) says you must produce on request.
4.9 average from 2 580 course reviews · 7 100+ course enrolments · certificate the day you pass
Trusted by KFC, Jack’s Bagels and the Spur Corporation group to train their teams across Southern Africa, and by the Environmental Health Practitioners who inspect food premises.
Which course do I need?
Pick your situation. Each one goes straight to the right course and price.
A Certificate of Acceptability for my premisesPersons in Charge · R1 699 · 16h A food handler certificate for workFood Handlers · R899 · 6h HACCP or GMP training for my teamThree HACCP levels from R1 195 · group pricing FSSC 22000, ISO 22000 or BRCGS certificationIntroduction, transition and implementation A course pathway for my roleFood safety officer, HACCP lead, auditor, QA, QC, GLOBALG.A.P. Training for a branch, kitchen or franchise groupBulk enrolment, one invoice, manager dashboardWho we train
Trusted by South Africa’s biggest restaurant franchises, and by the regulators who inspect them
ASC trains franchise teams for KFC, Jack’s Bagels and the Spur Corporation family of restaurants throughout Southern Africa, from food handlers in the kitchen to the persons in charge of each store.
Environmental Health Practitioners train with ASC. The regulators who inspect food premises and issue Certificates of Acceptability come to ASC for their own food safety training.
KFC · Jack’s Bagels · Spur Corporation: Spur Steak Ranches, Panarottis, John Dory's, RocoMamas, The Hussar Grill, Casa Bella, Doppio Zero, Nikos Coalgrill Greek, Modern Tailors, Piza e Vino · Environmental Health Practitioners, the regulators who inspect food premises
Start here
Start with the three courses most South African food businesses need first.
Food Safety Practices for Persons in Charge of Food Premises
The proof of training municipal environmental health practitioners ask for under Regulation R638. Video-proctored assessment, certificate the day you pass.
Basic Food Safety Practices for Food Handlers
Hygiene, contamination control, temperature and stock handling for everyone who touches food. The certificate employers and inspectors expect to see.
Basic Food Hygiene Awareness for Food Handlers
A four-hour foundation for new staff, spaza shop owners and anyone starting out in food. Upgrade to the full food handler course later.
No VAT is charged on ASC courses; the price you see is the price you pay. Pay online at checkout or request an invoice for your company. Groups get per-learner pricing.
Catalogue
Every course, grouped by what you need.
Franchise groups such as KFC and Spur train through dedicated client programmes. Talk to ASC about a programme for your group.
Regulation R638
The training an inspector asks about when you apply for or renew a Certificate of Acceptability.
Regulation R638 requires a trained person in charge at every food premises, through accredited training where applicable, trained food handlers, routine assessment of that training, and records that are routinely updated. The three steps take an owner or manager from no training to a certificate an environmental health practitioner can verify.
- Enrol the person in chargeOwner, manager or supervisor. About 16 self-paced hours, on a phone or laptop, in short sessions.
- Pass the proctored assessmentKnowledge tests per module, then a video-proctored final. 70 percent to pass: three attempts per knowledge test, two for the final.
- Download and verifyA QR-coded certificate the day you pass. Inspectors scan it and see the record.
Add the documents. The Basic Food Safety Document Templates Toolkit (R699, 40+ editable Word and Excel policies, procedures, forms and checklists aligned to R638) is 15% off when you buy it with any R638 course. Tell us on WhatsApp +27 61 483 0381 or the contact form which course you are enrolling in, and we invoice both with the discount applied.
Keep the records on a phone. ASCloud, ASC’s own paperless food safety system, puts the R638 checklists and records an inspector asks to see on a phone or tablet, from R499 a site a month (excl. VAT). See how ASCloud works.
Why ASC
Trained by the people who audit.
ASC Food Safety Training is the training arm of a consulting and auditing practice. The courses are led by a registered lead auditor and delivered by a team of accredited trainers.
Registered with SAATCA and accredited by FoodBev SETA, with the numbers published above. Verify us on the SAATCA register before you pay.
Every certificate carries a QR code that opens its verification record, so an inspector or employer can confirm it in seconds.
The R638 courses close with a proctored final assessment, video-proctored for persons in charge, so the record shows who was tested and how. That is what inspectors and franchise auditors ask to see.
Group your learners by branch, watch progress live, and export the completion report your audit file needs.
Learner reviews
4.9 out of 5 from learner reviews
2 580 published delegate ratings across ASC courses, collected inside each course after the final assessment. Courses with reviews show their own rating and enrolment count on the Enrol page. The Persons in Charge course alone: 4.77 from 201 reviews, 730 enrolled; the KFC persons in charge programme and the other KFC franchise programmes: 4.95 from 1 986 reviews, more than 5 000 enrolments.
Rating split on the Persons in Charge course, 201 reviews:
“This course truly empowered me. As a business owner I feel empowered and much more confident about handling foodstuffs.”
“Very well thought out program.”
For business
Train a kitchen, a branch or a national franchise group on one dashboard.
We enrol your people in bulk, group them by site, and give your QA or HR lead a live view of who has started, who has passed and whose completion date is coming up on your renewal schedule. Reports export in one click for your audit file. KFC and Spur franchise groups already train with us through dedicated programmes. Tell us how many learners and which courses, and we send a quote and an invoice within one working day. Want the daily checklists off paper too? ASCloud, ASC’s own paperless food safety system, runs them on the same phones and tablets. Already a client? Open the manager dashboard.
- Bulk enrolment by branch, department or region
- Manager dashboard: progress, pass status, certificate evidence
- Completion reports for audit files and inspections
- Reassessments and completion dates for your renewal schedule
Guides
Read before you choose.
Ready to choose? See all courses and prices
Training near you
Three branches, more than 400 Google reviews, online everywhere in South Africa.
14 Brickmakers Kloof Road, South End, Gqeberha 6001
+27 41 004 0382
Atrium Terraces, 272 Oak Avenue, Ferndale, Randburg 2194
+27 10 500 4661
183 Albion Springs, Rondebosch, Cape Town 7700
+27 21 300 4024
Learners in Durban, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, East London, Polokwane, Mbombela, Kimberley, Pietermaritzburg, Rustenburg, George and Stellenbosch train online; on-site delivery is arranged through the nearest branch. Ask about on-site training for your team.
Questions before you start
The things people ask before they enrol.
Anything else, message us on WhatsApp during office hours or use the support page.
Is an online R638 certificate accepted for a Certificate of Acceptability?
Regulation R638 does not prescribe online or classroom, but Regulation 10(1)(a) expects the person in charge’s training to be accredited or conducted by an inspector, where applicable, and 10(1)(b) expects staff to be trained by an inspector or another suitable person. The environmental health practitioner judges adequacy. ASC is a SAATCA registered and FoodBev SETA accredited provider; the Persons in Charge course covers the regulation itself, ends in a video-proctored assessment and issues a QR-verified certificate.
Which course should food handlers take?
Basic Food Safety Practices for Food Handlers (6 hours, R899). Very new staff can start with Basic Food Hygiene Awareness (4 hours, R420) and take the full food handler course later. Sites certified to FSSC 22000 or BRCGS also enrol their teams in Food Safety and Quality Culture for Food Handlers (4 hours, R560), which teaches the behaviours auditors look for when they judge culture.
Which course does the owner or manager of a food premises need?
Food Safety Practices for Persons in Charge of Food Premises (16 hours, R1 699). Regulation R638 makes the person in charge responsible for their own training and for everyone working on the premises.
How do I pay, and can my company get an invoice?
Pay online at checkout, or request a quote and invoice for a group. No VAT is charged on ASC courses. Companies training groups get per-learner pricing, one invoice and a manager dashboard.
How long does a course take and can I do it on my phone?
Courses run from 4 to 24 hours of self-paced learning and work on a phone, tablet or laptop. You can stop and resume at any time, and your certificate downloads the day you pass.
What happens if I fail the assessment?
Each knowledge test allows three attempts and the final assessment allows two, all with a 70 percent pass mark. If you still fall short, the ASC support team can arrange a reassessment where needed. Contact support from your learner dashboard.
Is ASC Food Safety Training accredited?
Yes. ASC is a SAATCA registered online training course provider (TC 065), a FoodBev SETA accredited training provider (587/00337/1900) and B-BBEE Level 1. Courses are written and led by a public health specialist. ASC Food Safety Training is the training arm of ASC Food Safety Consultants, with branches in Gqeberha, Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Who trains the courses?
The courses are led by Mthokozisi Nkosi, ASC’s founder, a food scientist, registered lead auditor and SAATCA R638:2018 Lead Implementer (SAATCA register RG003), and delivered by a team of accredited ASC trainers and assessors. Both Mthokozisi Nkosi (RG003) and ASC trainer Onele Kutu (RG004) are on the SAATCA register of R638:2018 implementers.