A clean, safe, and enjoyable eating environment is important to every restaurant. Central Avenue's business community takes public health very seriously and the CASID is now assisting local restaurants to better maintain that standard in addition to complying with local laws.
New Jersey State law requires a "Certified Food Protection Manager" in certain types of food establishments. In January 2015, the CASID began sponsoring a "Certified Food Protection Manager" training course. CASID Trustee and owner of Angel Azul Bakery, Eddy Gallo, heard from many small business owners in the district that were having difficulty accessing the State required certification. In response, Gallo became a Certified ServSafe Instructor and now volunteers his time to run the training course and help other local businesses and their employees achieve the certification. Thanks to Eddy's ability to speak two languages fluently, bilingual classes (English/ Spanish) are held on Central Avenue thereby granting convenient access to the certification for a wider area of our very diverse community.
The training course is 16 hours long divided over 6 days (3 to 2 hours each class). The 16 hour investment emphasis CASID's commitment to helping people who work in the food service industry learn, understand, and practice course materials. The course is given in a classroom setting with 4 to 7 students at a time and will be scheduled quarterly based on enrollment demands. The cost is $220 (SID discount: CASID members pay only $120) per person which includes the 16 hour course, learning materials, and exam. Please contact the CASID for more information and enrollment in the next available training course. Seating is limited and provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.
CASID's first ServSafe class had six students from four different businesses participating. All six successfully completed the course and passed the exam on the first attempt and are now SevSafe Certified Food Protection Managers.