Accredited food safety training in Bloemfontein, Free State.
R638 training for Bloemfontein food premises under Mangaung Metro
In Bloemfontein the Certificate of Acceptability comes from Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, through the Environmental Health Services and Pest Control division of its Social Services directorate. Mangaung is one of the few municipalities that charges for the certificate: R467 for the application and R566 for a re-inspection in the 2026/27 tariff book (VAT included), so a failed first inspection costs real money (Mangaung General Tariffs 2026/27).
The food trade here is restaurant and franchise kitchens around Westdene and Loch Logan, the Mangaung Fresh Produce Market, wholesalers in Hamilton, Oos Einde and Estoire, hospital and university catering, and thousands of spaza shops in Mangaung township, Botshabelo and Thaba Nchu. The inspector asks for training records before the certificate is signed.
2 300+ learner ratings across all ASC programmes, including KFC and Spur franchise training · 6 600+ course enrolments across South Africa
Which course do I need in Bloemfontein?
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 A spaza shop, tuck shop or market stallInformal Traders and Spaza Shops · R999 · 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 On-site or group training in BloemfonteinBulk enrolment, one invoice, manager dashboardCertificate of Acceptability in Bloemfontein
Who issues it, what the inspector checks, and the training you must show.
Read the full Certificate of Acceptability guide and the city by city R638 guide.
In Bloemfontein the Certificate of Acceptability is issued by the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, through its Environmental Health. An environmental health practitioner inspects the premises and recommends the certificate in the name of the person in charge, as Regulation 3 of R638 requires.
Whoever issues it, the inspection follows the same regulation. R638 requires the person in charge to be trained (regulation 10(1)(d)) and to keep a record that every food handler has been trained, and the inspector can ask for those records at any visit. Certificates from ASC show the accreditation details and a QR code, so the record is verifiable on the spot.
Bloemfontein is the judicial capital and the Free State’s distribution centre, with a municipal fresh produce market, a university and hospital catering economy, and a ring of abattoirs, dairies, grain and meat processors that supply the central provinces. Industrial and food-manufacturing areas we train in include Hamilton, Oos-Einde, Estoire, Hilton, Bloemspruit and the N8 corridor.
- Persons in Charge for the owner or manager named on the certificate
- Food Handlers for every person who touches food, drink or packaging
- Records: training register, illness reports, cleaning, temperature and pest control (regulation 10)
- Documents: the R638 toolkit gives you the policies, forms and registers, 15% off with a course
Where to apply in Bloemfontein
Where and how to apply for a Certificate of Acceptability in Bloemfontein.
Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Environmental Health Services (Community Services). Contact details below were checked against the municipality’s own website on 6 September 2026; phone before you travel, because offices, hours and numbers change.
Offices and contacts
Mangaung call centre 0800 111 300, WhatsApp 065 586 6261 (text only), email enquiry@mangaung.co.za.
Official pages and forms
How to apply
- Request the prescribed form from Environmental Health Services through the call centre.
- Submit the written application; an environmental health practitioner inspects the premises before approval.
- Pay the tariff; a failed first inspection costs more (R566) than the application, so prepare the premises and the records first.
- Display the certificate and notify the municipality within 30 days when the person in charge changes.
Documents to prepare
- Written application on the prescribed form (Environmental Health Services By-law, section 14)
- Identity document of the person in charge and company registration where applicable
- Proof of the premises address and a layout plan
- Trading licence application for food premises, which is a separate fee
Fee and turnaround
R467 for a Certificate of Acceptability application, R566 for a re-inspection, R190 for a duplicate certificate and R174 for a change of the person in charge; R381 for a food premises trading licence (Mangaung General Tariffs 2026/27). Not published.
What the inspector checks
Structure, hand-wash facilities, water and waste, temperature control, pest control, personal hygiene and training records under R638.
Mangaung charges a re-inspection fee higher than the application fee, which makes a pre-inspection walk-through with a trained person in charge worthwhile.
Local detail, verified September 2026
What is different about Bloemfontein
- One metro, one health authority. Mangaung is a metropolitan municipality, so municipal health services sit with the metro itself, not a district or the provincial Department of Health. The 2026/27 tariff book lists food premises certification under the Directorate Social Services, Sub-directorate Social Development, Division Environmental Health Services and Pest Control. Botshabelo and Thaba Nchu fall under the same metro authority as Bloemfontein.
- The certificate has a price. The 2026/27 general tariffs set a Certificate of Acceptability application at R467, a re-inspection at R566, a duplicate certificate at R190 and a change of person in charge at R174, all VAT inclusive. A hawker’s permit for perishable foodstuffs is R68 and a trading licence application for food premises is R381. Budget for the re-inspection fee if the premises is not ready first time.
- Walk-in process at the Bram Fischer Building. Applications are lodged on paper with the environmental health office in the metro’s head office at the corner of Nelson Mandela Drive and Markgraaf Street; there is no online portal. The metro’s call centre, 0800 111 300, directs you to the right environmental health practitioner for your ward. Turnaround is not published.
- Spaza permit needs the CoA first. Mangaung’s application form to operate a spaza, tuck shop or general dealer from a residential property lists the Certificate of Acceptability among the documents that must be attached, alongside a certified ID or valid permit, proof of residence and CIPC and SARS registration.
- The by-law behind the inspection. Mangaung’s Environmental Health Services By-law (Provincial Gazette Notice 60 of 25 October 2013, amended by Notice 38 of 19 July 2019) is enforced by HPCSA registered environmental health practitioners, and the metro republished the rationalised text in October 2025. Regulation R638 governs the food premises inspection itself.
- The 2025 registration drive is not finished. During the national spaza registration drive the Free State reported 7 521 applications and only 641 approvals, and Mangaung ran its own spaza registration outreach and health and safety checks. Unapproved shops still need the inspection and the training record.
- Where the food volume moves. The Mangaung Fresh Produce Market in Estoire is a municipal business unit and the central Free State’s wholesale floor for fruit and vegetables; the industrial belt of Hamilton, Oos Einde, Hilton and Estoire holds the distributors, bakeries and cold stores that supply the province.
- Training arrangement. ASC has no branch in Bloemfontein. Group and on-site training is arranged on request, delivered by an ASC trainer travelling from Gqeberha or Johannesburg, or run online with one manager dashboard. ASC is a SAATCA registered provider, TC 065, for the R638 Persons in Charge course.
Sources
- Mangaung General Tariffs 2026/27 (PDF)
- Mangaung Environmental Health Services By-law (PDF)
- Mangaung spaza and general dealer application (PDF)
- Govchain, Mangaung food licence lookup
- Bloemfontein Courant, Free State spaza registration
- SABC News, Mangaung registration drive
- SABC News, Mangaung health and safety checks
- Agribook, fresh produce markets
- DBSA review of municipal health services (PDF)
Courses Bloemfontein businesses buy most
Six courses cover almost every food premises in Bloemfontein.
- Food Safety Practices for Persons in Charge of Food Premises ★ 4.77 (101) R1 699 Enrol
- Basic Food Safety Practices for Food Handlers ★ 4.76 (58) R899 Enrol
- Basic Food Hygiene Awareness for Food Handlers ★ 4.86 (21) R420 Enrol
-
Food Safety Practices for Informal Traders and Spaza Shops
★ 4.88 (8)
R1 195R999 Enrol - Implementation of Good Manufacturing Practices ★ 5.00 (3) R1 950 Enrol
- Introduction to HACCP ★ 4.90 (10) R1 195 Enrol
- Basic Food Safety Document Templates Toolkit Templates Documents R699 View toolkit
Prices are the price you pay; no VAT is charged. The Basic Food Safety Bundle covers Persons in Charge, Food Handlers and Hygiene Awareness together at R2 264. HACCP for Supervisors and Advanced HACCP, FSSC 22000, ISO 22000, BRCGS and GLOBALG.A.P. are on the Enrol page.
Who trains with ASC in Bloemfontein
Written for the food businesses that operate in Bloemfontein
Westdene, Preller Square, Loch Logan Waterfront and the Mimosa Mall precinct carry the city’s restaurant and franchise density, and the University of the Free State and Central University of Technology feed a large campus and residence catering trade. The manager takes Persons in Charge (R1 699) and the crew take Food Handlers (R899).
The Mangaung Fresh Produce Market in Estoire and the warehouses of Hamilton, Oos Einde and Hilton move the fruit, vegetables, meat and dry goods for the central Free State. Market agents, packers and cold store staff sit squarely under R638; supervisors who need a hazard based system add Introduction to HACCP (R1 195).
Mangaung attaches the Certificate of Acceptability to the spaza and general dealer permit, and charges R68 for a hawker’s permit in perishable foodstuffs. The Informal Traders and Spaza Shops (R999) course covers the inspection points for a shop in Rocklands, Botshabelo or Thaba Nchu.
Universitas and Pelonomi hospital kitchens, school nutrition programme cooks and old age home kitchens are food premises like any other. Basic Food Hygiene Awareness (R420) suits a first job in food; the kitchen manager takes Persons in Charge.
On-site and in-house training
Train a Bloemfontein kitchen, plant or franchise group on one dashboard.
ASC has no branch in Bloemfontein; group and on-site training is arranged on request, delivered by an ASC trainer travelling to site or online.
- Send the learner countWhatsApp or the contact form. Quote within one working day, one invoice, no VAT.
- Learners train online or on sitePhone, tablet or laptop, self-paced for the R638 courses. On-site sessions through the Johannesburg branch.
- Manager dashboardSee who has finished, download certificates, and hand the inspector a training record for every site.
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.
Questions from Bloemfontein
What Bloemfontein food businesses ask before they enrol.
Anything else, message us on WhatsApp during office hours or use the support page.
Who issues the Certificate of Acceptability in Bloemfontein?
Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, through the Environmental Health Services and Pest Control division of its Social Services directorate. The same metro office covers Bloemfontein, Botshabelo and Thaba Nchu. An environmental health practitioner inspects the premises against Regulation R638 and the certificate is issued in the name of the person in charge.
Is there a fee for the Certificate of Acceptability in Mangaung?
Yes. The 2026/27 general tariffs list R467 for the application, R566 for a re-inspection, R190 for a duplicate and R174 for a change of person in charge, VAT included. Get the training and records right before the first visit so you do not pay the re-inspection fee.
Where do I apply in Bloemfontein and can I do it online?
Applications are on paper at the environmental health office in the Bram Fischer Building, corner Nelson Mandela Drive and Markgraaf Street; there is no online portal. Phone the metro call centre on 0800 111 300 first to confirm the practitioner for your area and what to bring. Turnaround is not published.
Does the Mangaung inspector accept ASC’s online certificate?
R638 does not prescribe classroom or online training; regulation 10 requires the person in charge to be trained and to hold a training record for every food handler. ASC certificates carry the provider details and a QR code the practitioner can scan on the spot. ASC is a SAATCA registered provider, TC 065, for the R638 Persons in Charge course.
How do I train a group in Bloemfontein, Botshabelo or Thaba Nchu?
Send the learner count on WhatsApp or the contact form. Groups train online with one invoice and a manager dashboard, or an ASC trainer travels to your site on request from Gqeberha or Johannesburg. There is no ASC branch in Bloemfontein.
Also serving
Food safety training near Bloemfontein.
This page serves Bloemfontein, Mangaung, Botshabelo, Thaba Nchu, Dewetsdorp and Wepener. Food businesses in Welkom, Odendaalsrus and Virginia in the goldfields, Kroonstad, Bethlehem, Harrismith and Sasolburg train online the same way; Sasolburg and the Vaal side are also covered by the Vaal Triangle page. On-site sessions anywhere in the Free State are quoted on request with an ASC trainer travelling from Gqeberha or Johannesburg.