By Mthokozisi Nkosi, ASC Food Safety Training. Reviewed 21 September 2026.
Short answer: every hospitality business that prepares or serves food falls under Regulation R638, from a hotel kitchen to a four-room guesthouse that cooks breakfast. The premises need a Certificate of Acceptability, the person in charge must be trained in food safety, and that person must make sure every food handler is trained too. Waiters, baristas, room service staff and breakfast cooks are all food handlers.
Who counts as a food handler in hospitality?
More people than most owners expect. Under R638 a food handler is anyone who directly handles or comes into contact with food, or with the equipment and surfaces food touches. In a hospitality business that usually includes:
- chefs, cooks, kitchen assistants and scullers
- waiters, runners, baristas and bar staff who garnish drinks or handle ice
- banqueting and buffet staff
- room service staff and housekeepers who deliver trays or stock minibars
- guesthouse and B&B owners and staff who cook or serve breakfast
What R638 expects of the business
Regulation R638 of 2018, made under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, sets the general hygiene requirements for food premises in South Africa. Three points matter most to a restaurant, hotel or guesthouse:
- A Certificate of Acceptability for the premises, issued by your local authority’s environmental health department, displayed where it can be seen or available on request.
- A trained person in charge. The person in charge of the premises must be suitably trained in food safety and hygiene, and is responsible for making sure the regulations are followed day to day.
- Trained food handlers, with proof. The person in charge must ensure that everyone who handles food is trained, and must keep training records that an environmental health practitioner can ask to see.
Where hospitality businesses most often slip
- Temperature control on buffets and at breakfast. Cold food must be kept cold and hot food hot. Eggs, dairy, cold meats and cooked rice left at room temperature through a long breakfast service are a classic risk.
- Cross-contamination. Raw and ready-to-eat foods sharing boards, knives, cloths or fridge shelves. The same discipline protects guests with allergies and guests with religious dietary requirements.
- Hand washing at the front of house. Waiters handle money, phones, cleared plates and then bread baskets. A hand wash basin with soap and paper towel must be within reach and used.
- Working while ill. Staff with diarrhoea, vomiting or infected cuts must report it and must not handle food.
- No records. Training certificates, cleaning schedules, fridge temperature logs and pest control reports are what an inspector asks for first.
Which course suits which role?
| Role | Course | Time | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner, manager, head chef, supervisor | Food Safety Practices for Persons in Charge of Food Premises | 8h | R1 699 |
| Chefs, cooks, kitchen staff, waiters who plate or prepare | Basic Food Safety Practices for Food Handlers | 6h | R899 |
| Front of house, housekeeping, new and casual staff | Basic Food Hygiene Awareness for Food Handlers | 4h | R420 |
All three are online and self-paced, and learners download their certificate when they pass. For more detail, see our R638, food handler and persons in charge training page.
Safe food and gracious service belong together
A guest judges your business on two things at once: whether the food is safe, and how your people made them feel. Food safety training covers the first. Our new hospitality service course, Hospitality Service Etiquette, Cultural Sensitivity and Halal & Kosher Awareness, covers the second: professional etiquette, greetings, customer service, communication and presentation skills, cultural sensitivity, and how to look after guests with Halal and Kosher requirements. It is a non-accredited short course; learners receive a QR-verified ASC certificate of achievement, and it does not certify a kitchen as Halal or Kosher.
See all hospitality and foodservice training
This article is a plain-language summary and not legal advice. Refer to Regulation R638 of 22 June 2018 and your local environmental health practitioner for the full requirements.