Ten participants from a recent Safe Plates class successfully received their Food Safety Manager Certification. This class was held in cooperation with the Southport-Oak Island Chamber of Commerce.

Another Safe Plates course will be held March 18th and 25th, 2024. This comprehensive course is appropriate for food service managers and supervisory staff in restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes, childcare facilities, and other food-handling establishments.

NC Safe Plates is a food safety certification course developed by North Carolina State University. Safe Plates for Food Managers differs from other food safety manager trainings as it is taught through case studies, storytelling, activities and discussion. This class is interactive and encourages participants to engage with the material. Food service managers successfully completing the exam will meet the 2022 FDA Food Code requirement for an ANSI (American National Standards Institution) approved Certified Food Protection Manager. Managers will receive a certificate to display in their operation which will verify to the local Environmental Health Department that they are in compliance. A certified person in charge (PIC) should be present at all times the establishment is in operation.

The classes will meet at the NC Cooperative Extension Training Center at the Government Center in Bolivia from 9am. until 4pm. on each day. The registration fee is $125 per person. This includes all instruction, materials and the exam. Participants are encouraged to bring their own lunch, snacks and beverages.

Instructors for the classes will be Cheryle Jones Syracuse and Avery Ashley both Family and Consumer Science Team Members with NC Cooperative Extension in Brunswick County. Staff members from the Brunswick County Environmental Health will also be on-hand to answer questions.

The class will be taught in English and the book and the handout materials are available in English only. The Food Safety Manager Certification test is available in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Spanish.

For more information or to register, contact Avery Ashley at Brunswick County Center of the N.C. Cooperative Extension 910-253-2610. Checks should be made out to Brunswick County Cooperative Extension and mailed to PO Box #109, Bolivia, NC 28422. It is recommended that participants pay in-person at the office in Bolivia and pick up books and study materials before the class. Pre-registration is required. Seating is limited to the first 30 registered.

ABOUT N.C. COOPERATIVE EXTENSION

N.C. Cooperative Extension is a strategic partnership of NC State University, N.C. A&T State University, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and local governments statewide. Extension professionals in all 100 counties, and with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, connect millions of North Carolinians with research-based information and technology from the universities. Educational programs specialize in agriculture, food and nutrition, 4-H youth development, community development and the environment. Find your local center at www.ces.ncsu.edu/local-county-center.