CERTIFIED PROGRAM ON FOOD SAFETY LAUNCHED IN YEREVAN
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09/29/2009
Yerevan, Armenia – On September 29, 2009, the USAID-funded Competitive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) Project, the American University of Armenia Extension Program, and the Armenian Restaurant Association launched the “ServSafe: Essentials of Consistent Food Safety” certification program in Yerevan. A three-day training course, developed by the educational fund of the American National Association of Restaurants, was held for representatives of Armenia’s food service industry to assist in setting high food safety standards. The course was developed by the American National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and covered five key areas:
- Basic Food Safety
- Personal Hygiene
- Cross-contamination & Allergens
- Time & Temperature
- Cleaning & Sanitation
The training course was designed to be of benefit to hotels, restaurants, catering services, supermarkets, government officials and educational institutions, and will be taught by Dr. Mahmood A. Khan, Ph.D., R.D., F.M. P., a Professor at the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at one of the most prestigious American educational institutions, Virginia Tech / Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Mr. Khan has over 30 years of experience in this field.
An academic partnership between Virginia Tech and several Armenian educational institutions was established earlier this year when, on the initiative of the CAPS Project, the professor first visited Armenia to conduct an assessment of specific program needs. In the framework of this and a later visit in April, Dr. Khan introduced several Armenian universities to leading edge curricula, offering modern teaching methods and approaches, as well as conducting training courses on Food Safety and Marketing/Sales for the Armenian hospitality industry representatives.
“The availability of an effective food safety system and qualified workforce is essential for restaurants and catering services. By supporting this and similar initiatives we try to assist hospitality companies improve the quality of their services and staff knowledge”, Anush Shahverdyan, CAPS Workforce Development Specialist said, noting that the training course would be followed by an exam on October 9 to allow the participants to qualify as internationally certified trainers.
