Review of The Safer Food System
The Safer Food System is an elearning course and downloadable ready-to-use FSMS system in one. In this section we've attempted to review the system and look at the pros and cons of the system and alternatives available to you.
What were we trying to achieve?
Firstly our objective at the start of development of the system two years ago, was to give food and drink businesses an easy and low cost way of creating their own FSMS that made sure they complied with the law. Secondly to give businesses the skills and understanding to manage the system as the business or law changed.
Your 4 options for creating your own FSMS:
1. Get a food safety consultant in...
Your first option could be to get a consultant in to create and implement an FSMS incoprorating HACCP for you. Great but this route can be expensive and worse still once they leave the skills and understanding of HACCP (etc etc) goes with them and you are left without the knowledge to manage the system as supplies, staff. menus, and the law changes.
Pros: Tailored to your business
Cons: Expensive, and they leave at the end (with all the skills)
2. Do a FSMS course face to face...
Getting better in our opinion, you can have the skills in-house, and on the days you attend the course you can ask questions and maybe even get a bit of individual help in designing some forms and procedures for your own business and unique circumstances. Downside is this route can also be expensive and the support very short in duration and very limited.
Pros: Good quality, you get the skills in-house
Cons: Can be expensive, limited/no help to create own system
3. Do an FSMS course online (elsewhere)...
Sounds promising, should be low cost, the web is a good communication medium, watch some videos, do it flexibly, no travel to attend the course etc. Problem is that most of the online or so called 'elearning' offerings are poor quality, limited, unsupported old computer based training discs just stuck online.
Pros: Should be low cost
Cons: variable quality, some out of date, no help to implement
4. The Safer Food System course online...
Is our system really different, better? We genuinely think so. Instead of cheesy voiceover artists reading out boring scripts, we bring you 100% credible food experts, filmed in studio quality video. We add in visits to award winning locations and chefs. We then add in a FULL downloadable FSMS system for you to use, and finally support your learning and implementing the system by making the actual subject experts in the videos available to answer your questions. Finally we test your learning in multi-choice tests, provide an action planner and help and support centre, and give you a nationally accredited level 3 certificate from ASET.
Pros: Comprehensive, feature-rich, includes a system, arguably as good as a face-to-face FSMS training course, it actually works.
Cons: More expensive than some other online offerings
So why the difference in cost, and is worth it?
Ours is not £50 for some powerpoints, its £359 for the most comprehsive course of its type, designed and hosted by elearning specialists at TribalLearn, and it works.
There are a number of FSMS and HACCP related eLearning courses available that you will find quickly by googling HACCP and other similar phrases. You can even find courses for as little as £35, whereas a quick glance at The Safer Food system will show you it costs £359, almost 10 times the cost.
The difference in cost is due to the course, support and system being way way better than the cheapest courses. If someone charges you £35 you are probably going to get a dozen powerpoint slides or a few animations and some audio commentary. With ours you get 128 videos looking at every component and everything you need to know, support of real food experts, not just a call centre operator (or nothing at all), and you actually get a downloadable FSMS system plus a set of 15 HelpGuides to help you apply the system.
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