Peabody to offer food training in Portuguese

By Stacie N. Galang
Staff writer

May 15, 2008 12:48 am

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PEABODY — Health Department officials are planning to offer Portuguese-speaking food workers training to help them reduce the risk of food-borne illness.

Health Director Sharon Cameron said it's the same program offered to 40 English-speaking "front-of-the-house" waitstaff last month and covers topics like proper hygiene around food and potential points of contamination.

The one-hour program is a shortened version of daylong training for kitchen staff. Both are offered as a community service by the city, Cameron said.

"We had thought there'd be some benefit in training the waitstaff," she said. "They do have opportunities to potentially contaminate (food)."

The trainings are intended to raise awareness among the employees in the city's food service industry. Workers also get to know the city's Heath Department beyond its role as inspectors, Cameron said.

"We also want them to view us as a source of technical assistance," she said.

The city is partnering with Grace Martins, who is certified by the National Restaurant Association. Cameron said they wanted to keep the program to $10 per person.

"It's inexpensive," the health director said. "It's not a barrier for people to get this training."

Cameron said she would like to offer each of the programs once a year. The dates and times haven't been confirmed yet.

For more information, contact the Health Department at 978-538-5926.