In any food business, food safety is of utmost importance. This is why Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc. (BAVI), the company behind the retail brands Chooks-to-Go, Uling Roasters and Reyal, introduced the Food Protection Manager Course to its rotisserie operations personnel.
BAVI, in the last quarter of 2016, set the course as a pre-requisite for the regularization and promotion of management trainees. It was later extended to Rotisserie Operations Supervisors, Training Specialists and Compliance Personnel.
The primary goal of the course is to ensure compliance of personnel to food safety standards and further hone their competencies and understanding on food safety and quality assurance.
Assistant Manager for Quality Management Ellaine Atienza, who is Servsafe Certified, developed a module covering Food Safety and Food Protection principles, which can be applied to both the business and personal food handling practices at home.
“With the introduction of the course, we want to remind our operations personnel that they are not merely sales people who deliver sales targets. This course aims to help them ensure that we have long-term sales and our brands have strong names backed up by food that is safe and is of good quality,” said Compliance Group Manager Milady Resurreccion.
Resurreccion added that the module is tailor-fitted to the company’s standards, which is regularly checked in audits.
In BAVI, Management Trainees are expected to cascade to store crews the food safety standards, which guarantees the public and consumers that only safe and quality products are served.
Aside from arming the trainees with more knowledge on food safety and protection, the course also entitles them to be Certified Food Safety Officers as trainees were required to take a certification exam.
The first leg of the exam was conducted in January, and to date, 77 employees are already Certified Food Safety Officers, composed of Management Trainees, Store Supervisors, Store Training Specialists, Training Specialists, and Compliance Personnel. Of the certified employees, nine achieved 100 percent rating: Evelyn Mendoza, senior store supervisor; Algin Villanueva, store training specialist; Angelica Lalaguna, management trainee; Carolina Campanero, management trainee; Christian Erick Manalo, management trainee; Trixia Mona Abad, management trainee; Oliver Lu-ayon, store training specialist; and John Allen de Torres, compliance supervisor; Raymund Redulfin, store supervisor; Mae Aubrey Herrera, store training specialist; and Sheryl Igos, store training specialist.