Accredited Regulation R638 Food Safety Training
The complete resource for getting legally compliant under South Africa’s food hygiene law. Accredited training, online or in person anywhere in South Africa, for the Person in Charge, Food Handlers, Spaza Shops and Informal Traders, plus a free R638 compliance checklist. Built to support your Certificate of Acceptability (CoA).
What is Regulation R638 of 2018?
Regulation R638 is the Regulations Governing General Hygiene Requirements for Food Premises, the Transport of Food and Related Matters, published under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972. Gazetted on 22 June 2018, it repealed and replaced the older R962 of 2012 and is now the single hygiene standard that every food business in South Africa must meet.
In plain terms, R638 decides whether your food premises is allowed to operate. It governs the structure and cleanliness of premises, how food is transported, the duties of the person in charge, the training of food handlers, and the issuing of the Certificate of Acceptability (CoA) by your local municipality.
Who must comply? Every food premises, from a Sandton restaurant and a Pretoria takeaway to a Durban sushi bar, a Cape Town bakery, a manufacturing plant, a supermarket deli, and a Soweto spaza shop. If you handle, store, transport or sell food to the public, R638 applies to you.
📜 Certificate of Acceptability (CoA)
The mandatory legal permit issued by your municipality’s Environmental Health department before a food premises may trade. Inspectors expect trained staff and a trained person in charge as part of granting and renewing it. Read the full CoA guide →
🤝 The Person in Charge
R638 requires a designated, competent person responsible for food safety on the premises. Under Regulation 10(1)(a), this person must hold appropriate accredited food safety training.
👨🍳 Food Handler Training
Under Regulation 10(1)(b), food handlers, including spaza shop and informal-trade staff, must be trained in safe food handling appropriate to their work. Food handler training guide →
Training vs consulting, which ASC site do you need?
ASC Food Safety Consultants runs two websites so you always land in the right place. Here is the difference.
ascfoodsafetytraining.com
Our dedicated online training website. Enrol in accredited, self-paced courses and download your certificate instantly.
- R638 Person in Charge, Food Handler and Spaza Shop courses
- HACCP, GMP, FSSC 22000, BRCGS and GLOBALG.A.P. courses
- Learner dashboard, course bundles and managed client groups
ascfoodsafety.com
Our main website for hands-on food safety consulting, audits and document toolkits delivered by the ASC team.
- Food hygiene audits and certification for restaurants, kitchens and canteens
- FSMS implementation, gap audits and CoA compliance support
- Editable document toolkits and templates
What R638 actually requires of a food business
Training is one pillar of compliance. ASC’s courses are built around the real duties an Environmental Health Practitioner checks on inspection, so your team learns exactly what the regulation expects.
The R638 compliance checklist
Tick off where you stand. This self-assessment covers food safety under R638 plus the wider municipal requirements an inspector checks before issuing or renewing your Certificate of Acceptability.
R638 and municipal readiness self-check
Tick each item you already have in place. Anything left unticked is an action point.
Four R638 training pathways, pick the one for your role
If you are the manager or owner responsible for the premises, take the Person in Charge course. If you prepare or serve food, choose a Food Handler course. Spaza shops and informal traders have a dedicated option.
Food Safety Practices for Persons in Charge
The flagship R638 course for the person legally responsible for a food premises. Ideal for CoA applications.
- SAATCA, HPCSA and FoodBev SETA accredited
- Approx. 17 hours, self-paced
- Includes Learner Guide and copy of R638
- Proctored assessment, QR-verified certificate
Basic Food Safety Practices for Food Handlers
The full accredited food handler course covering hygiene, hazards, temperature control and GMP for everyday food work.
- Accredited, foundational level
- Self-paced and mobile-friendly
- Includes Learner Guide
- QR-verified Certificate of Achievement
Basic Food Safety for Spaza Shops and Informal Traders
Affordable, mobile-friendly, HPCSA-accredited training built for spaza shops and informal traders.
- HPCSA accredited, entry level
- Videos, simple text and Q&A
- Works on any phone
- QR-verified Certificate of Achievement
Basic Food Hygiene Awareness for Food Handlers
A quick, practical half-day awareness course, perfect for staff induction and annual refresher training.
- Half-day online awareness course
- Contamination and illness prevention
- GMP and personal hygiene basics
- QR-verified certificate on completion
Training a whole team or multiple sites? Talk to ASC about group enrolment and managed client groups →
Triple-accredited R638 training, verifiable, not vague
Accreditation is what makes a certificate worth holding when an inspector asks. ASC carries the three accreditations South African municipalities and procurement teams recognise for R638, together, not separately.
TC No. 065
Listed on the SAATCA register of registered training course providers for R638 compliance.
Accredited
Health Professions Council of South Africa accreditation adds professional development credibility.
SETA 587/00337/1900
FoodBev SETA accreditation for workplace skills recognition, with a skills-programme route available.
Level 1
Level 1 contributor status, valuable for enterprise and procurement-facing clients.
A certificate that cannot be faked or duplicated
An R638 certificate only matters if it is genuine. ASC builds integrity into every certificate so municipalities, auditors and employers can rely on it with total confidence.
Proctored video assessment
Every course ends with a proctored, video-based assessment that confirms the delegate personally completed the training, not someone else.
QR-verified certificates
Each certificate carries a unique QR code. Anyone can scan it to instantly confirm the certificate is authentic and current.
Tamper-proof and unique
Because each record is verified and QR-linked, ASC certificates cannot be faked, copied or duplicated, protecting your business and ours.
Recognised by all municipalities
This superior, verifiable profile is why ASC certificates are recognised by municipalities across every South African province.
Why ASC is the strongest R638 training choice in South Africa
The difference is the combination of accreditation depth, certificate integrity, technical authority, price and national recognition behind it.
| Capability | ASC Online Training Hub | Typical R638 provider |
|---|---|---|
| SAATCA accreditation | Yes, TC 065 | No, often missing |
| HPCSA accreditation | Yes | No, rare |
| FoodBev SETA accreditation | Yes, 587/00337/1900 | Sometimes |
| All three accreditations together | Only provider in SA | No |
| SAATCA R638:2018 Lead Implementer on staff | 1 of only 3 in SA | No, not demonstrated |
| Proctored video assessment | Yes | No, usually not |
| QR-verified, tamper-proof certificate | Yes | No |
| Person in Charge course price | R1 699 | Often R3 000+ |
| Dedicated spaza and informal trader course | Yes, R999 | No, seldom |
| National municipal recognition | Cape Town to Polokwane | Varies |
How your accredited R638 training works
From enrolment to a verifiable certificate you can hand an inspector, often within a day. This is the online route; in-person training is also available nationwide.
Choose your course
Person in Charge, Food Handler, Spaza Shop or half-day Awareness, based on your role under R638.
Learn at your pace
Work through engaging videos, text and Q&A on any device, in your own time.
Complete the proctored assessment
A video-based assessment confirms it is genuinely you completing the course.
Download your QR certificate
Receive your accredited, QR-verified certificate instantly to support your Certificate of Acceptability.
Online, or in person anywhere in South Africa
ASC is not an online-only provider. We have the team and the capacity to come to you, in the language your staff understand best.
Multilingual facilitators and assessors
Several highly trained ASC facilitators and assessors deliver training in multiple South African languages, so your team learns in the language they are most comfortable with.
On-site training, any province
We have the capacity to deliver in-person training at your premises anywhere in South Africa, from Gauteng and the Western Cape to the most rural sites.
FoodBev SETA accredited skills programmes
Beyond short courses, ASC offers FoodBev SETA accredited skills programmes for recognised, workplace-aligned learning and credits.
Online courses too
Prefer self-paced learning? Our accredited online courses give the same QR-verified certificate, completed in your own time on any device.
Need more than training? Book a food hygiene audit.
Training gets your people compliant, a hygiene audit proves your premises is. If your restaurant, kitchen or canteen wants an independent R638-aligned hygiene inspection and certification, ASC’s auditors can help. This is a consulting service on our main website, ascfoodsafety.com.
R638 training across South Africa’s major cities and provinces
Because every ASC R638 course is online and self-paced, learners and teams in every province get the same accredited training, backed by branch presence in Gauteng, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape.
Johannesburg and Pretoria R638 training
From Sandton restaurants to Soweto spaza shops, ASC is the go-to accredited R638 partner across Gauteng, including dedicated spaza shop and informal trader training after the registration drive. Gauteng branch: Randburg.
Cape Town R638 training
Accredited R638 Person in Charge and food handler training for Cape Town’s restaurants, bakeries, retailers and manufacturers. Western Cape branch: Rondebosch.
Durban R638 training
Online accredited R638 training for Durban and KZN food businesses, sushi bars, takeaways, manufacturers and retailers, with instant certificates.
Gqeberha R638 training
Home of ASC’s head office. Accredited R638 training for Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), East London and the wider Eastern Cape food industry.
Also serving every other South African city:
Training led by one of only three SAATCA R638:2018 Lead Implementers in SA
Mthokozisi Nkosi
A credible R638 course needs credible authorship. ASC’s training is shaped by Mthokozisi Nkosi, who brings together food safety systems knowledge, public health insight, real auditing experience and practical implementation.
That combination matters: learners are not only told what R638 requires, they understand why it matters for public health, how inspectors assess it, and what good practice looks like on the floor of a real food premises. As one of just three SAATCA Registered R638:2018 Lead Implementers in the country, his involvement is a credibility signal few providers can match.
Mthokozisi leads a team of highly trained ASC facilitators and assessors who can train in multiple South African languages. ASC is not online-only: we have the capacity to deliver in-person training at your premises anywhere in South Africa, and we offer FoodBev SETA accredited skills programmes alongside our online courses.
Regulation R638 training, frequently asked questions
The questions food businesses, managers and traders ask most about R638, CoA and accredited training.
What is Regulation R638 of 2018?
Is R638 food safety training a legal requirement?
Which R638 course do I need and what does it cost?
How does ASC make sure its certificates cannot be faked?
Does the Person in Charge course help me get a Certificate of Acceptability?
Is ASC’s R638 training accredited?
What is the difference between ascfoodsafety.com and ascfoodsafetytraining.com?
Is the certificate accepted by all South African municipalities?
Do spaza shops and informal traders need food safety training?
What is the difference between R638 and R962?
Everything R638, CoA and food handler training, in one place
This page is your hub for South African food hygiene compliance. Explore our in-depth guides, then enrol in the course that fits your role.
New R638, Certificate of Acceptability and food handler articles are added here as they are published. Bookmark this page as your R638 reference.
Download the R638 training pack
Grab the R638 training brochure and compliance checklist, a quick summary of ASC’s accredited courses, pricing and a ready-to-use inspection checklist. Perfect for sharing with your team, manager or procurement department.
Become R638-compliant with South Africa’s only triple-accredited training provider
Join 3 393+ learners who chose accredited, affordable, online R638 training with proctored assessments and QR-verified certificates.