Premier Food Safety

What Premier Food Safety is

Premier Food Safety is a training and certification provider for the food service industry. It sells state food handler card courses, ServSafe Food Manager Certification (online or in a classroom), responsible alcohol service training, food allergen awareness training and California sexual harassment prevention courses. It serves two readers: the LEARNER who needs a card or certificate to work in a kitchen, and the restaurant, hotel or school operator who has to keep a whole staff compliant. The home page describes the company as "among the largest and most reputable food safety education providers in the United States" and says that over the past 45 years it has helped train and certify over 3 million food service professionals. Its programs are labeled health department approved and ANAB accredited, and the home page shows a 4.9 rating from 3,000+ reviews.

The food handler card

The food handler card is the entry product. The home page offers state cards for Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas and Utah, plus county programs for Maricopa County and San Diego. Each is 100% online and you download the card as soon as you pass.

The California page shows how a course works in three steps. You register and train: the course is available in English, Spanish, Chinese and Korean, runs about 90 minutes including the exam, can be started and stopped as needed, and comes with a full text transcript and closed captioning. You take the exam: a 40-question test with a minimum passing score of 70%, unlimited attempts, and the rule that after 2 failed attempts you must view the course again from the beginning. You print your card and certificate at home: the card is valid for 3 years, training access lasts 1 year, and if you have no printer the company will mail a printed card for an additional $9.99. The page title advertises the California card at $7.95 with a pass guarantee.

The California FAQ is a compact guide to the law itself. Under the California Food Handlers Card Law (based on SB303), food handlers must get a card within 30 days of being hired and renew it every 3 years. The card is valid across the state except in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties, which issue their own, and one card covers you if you work for several restaurants. The FAQ defines a food handler as "any individual who is involved in the preparation, storage, or service of food in a food facility", and part-time and temporary staff need a card too. A long list of workplaces is exempt, including grocery and convenience stores, certified farmers' markets, school cafeterias, licensed health care facilities and food booths, as are volunteers at soup kitchens and food banks and anyone holding a valid Manager's Food Safety Certificate. The FAQ also says that since January 1st, 2024 California employers must cover the cost of food handler card training, and that employers have to keep records showing every food handler holds a valid card, for example a copy of each card on file for the health inspector.

Food Manager Certification

The Food Manager product is the ServSafe Food Manager Certification. The company's own summary reads: "We offer the ServSafe Food Manager Certification nationwide, and state specific Food Handler Card programs to help you meet regulatory requirements easily and in an affordable manner." The state selector on the home page runs from Alaska to Wyoming and includes Washington DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands and the Marshall Islands. You can choose an online course or book an in-person class, and choose a paper-based or online ServSafe exam, sold as packages. In California the FAQ explains that the manager certificate is "a higher, more comprehensive certificate training that meets and exceeds the Food Handlers Card law requirements", so a manager who holds it does not also need a handler card. The resource menu adds a ServSafe practice test, Food Manager FAQs, certification requirements by state and a store for ServSafe books.

Other training

• Alcohol training: ABC approved and 100% online, with California RBS training and Illinois BASSET training.
• Food allergen awareness training: 100% online.
• Sexual harassment prevention: the home page explains that California AB 1825, amended by SB 1343, makes this training mandatory for businesses with 5 or more employees, for both supervisory and non-supervisory staff. The courses are 100% online, in English and Spanish, and the certificate downloads instantly.
• Free resources: a free food handler practice test, the California Retail Food Code, handwashing guidelines, guidelines for ready-to-eat food and a certificate lookup.

Guarantees and price

The home page lists a "100% Guarantee" covering satisfaction, money back and lowest price, and repeats "Lowest price guaranteed" in its reasons to choose the company. The California handler card is the one price printed on the pages, at $7.95. For groups of 100 or more employees who need training, the California page invites you to call for a special group discount or request a quote.

Who uses it

Testimonials on the home page come from food service operators rather than individual learners. Tommy P., Director of Food/Beverage at the Radisson Hotel Maingate in Anaheim, writes: "I cannot say enough great things about their teachers, their training program, and their attention to our needs." MaryJo V. of Burbank Unified School District says the class "was both informative, interactive, and the instructor was very experienced." Paul G., president of C.G. Investments, describes the challenge of training "all of my managers in our 22 Subway restaurants", and David B., an operating partner at P.F. Chang's China Bistro, says he will send all his managers to its classes. Those quotes point to the in-person classroom side of the business, which sits next to the online card courses.

Support is through an email form and a help desk phone line.

Who it suits

Premier Food Safety suits a new restaurant hire in California who needs a handler card fast and cheaply, in English, Spanish, Chinese or Korean, on a phone. It also suits a kitchen manager who has to pass the ServSafe Food Manager exam and wants the choice of an online course or a classroom, and an employer who needs handler cards, alcohol service training and harassment prevention for a whole team from one provider. Handler cards are only offered for the states and counties in its selector, so workers elsewhere should check that their state is listed.