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		February 17, 1999 To:Board of Health From:Dr. Sheela Basrur, Medical Officer of Health Subject:Partnership Agreement Between Toronto Public Health and the Ontario Chinese Restaurant and Food Services Association Purpose: The purpose of this report is to inform the Toronto Board of Health of the partnership agreement between Toronto Public Health and the Ontario Chinese Restaurant and Food Services Association (OCRFA) to provide a collaborative food safety education program at no added cost to the City. Financial Implications: None. The OCRFA reimburses public health for the direct costs of the program, including the services of a Chinese speaking Public Health Inspector to instruct the course, administration of the examination and issuance of certificates. Recommendation: It is recommended that the Board of Health forward this report to the City of Toronto's Budget Committee for information. Background: The Ontario Chinese Restaurant and Food Services Association was founded in 1980 and at present has approximately 600 active members. Approximately fifty-five percent of the member establishments are located in the greater Toronto area. The OCRFA recognized the need to upgrade the food safety skills of Chinese food handlers to comply with provincial food safety guidelines. This acknowledgment initiated discussions with Toronto Public Health and resulted in this innovative partnership to educate and certify Chinese speaking food handlers. The terms of the partnership are outlined in the attached Memorandum of Understanding (see Appendix 1). The OCRFA also partnered with the Chinese Cuisine Program at the George Brown School of Hospitality to include the Food Handler Certification Program in Cantonese as part of the sanitation curriculum. This presents an opportunity to develop a strong working relationship with the School in an effort to expose the Program to a new market of food handlers. Comments: Under the authority of the Health Protection and Promotion Act, the Mandatory Health Programs and Services Guidelines states that, "The board of health shall ensure that food handler training courses are provided in accordance with the Ministry of Health Food Handler Training Protocol (January 1, 1998) to food handlers in high and medium risk food premises." (Ontario Mandatory Health Programs and Services Guidelines, December 1997). The protocol also states, "The local board of health shall ensure that the food handler training program based on the principles of sanitary food service and hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) procedures is made available to at least one employee who prepares food in each high and medium risk food premise. An employee with a valid food safety training certificate must be present in the food premise at all times when food is being prepared. This requirement will apply only to high and medium risk food premises which have three or more employees who prepare food at any one point in time on the food premise." The Food Handler Certification Program was developed by the Environmental Health Managers in the GTA in response to these provincial requirements. It is a low literacy program targeted to the front line food handlers in high risk premises and was further adapted under the leadership of the Etobicoke Office to meet the needs of the Chinese community. This approach was based on the fact that many food handlers do not have a high level of formal education and in some cases, English is not their first language. Some segments of the food handler population do not speak English at all, and this group is missing an opportunity to become certified food handlers. The partnership pilot project seeks to address this concern by allowing access to the program by Cantonese speaking food handlers. Through a Memorandum of Understanding, OCRFA has agreed to pay a fee of $200 to Toronto Public Health for the services of a Chinese speaking Public Health Inspector for approximately six hours of classroom instruction. This fee will cover the inspector's salary for the time in the classroom. Furthermore, five dollars per participant will be paid to Toronto Public Health to administer the examination and issue the certificates. The OCRFA will provide all educational and promotional materials, venues for the sessions, refreshments and administration of the courses. The translation and cultural art work on the program material was sponsored by the Toronto Chinese Health Education Committee, which is a community based volunteer coalition group. This networking with community groups further reflects the commitment and support of the community towards this partnership. Eight courses will be offered over the next two years to approximately 400 students. It is estimated that this will provide food handler training for staff in 500 establishments across the City, which represents 80% of the target group. Over time, the partnership will provide Toronto Public Health with the opportunity to educate thousands of Chinese speaking food handlers and to provide them with the ability to upgrade their food safety skills. In turn, this will assist Toronto Public Health in reaching the goal of reducing the incidence of food-borne illness in the population of the City of Toronto. Evaluations will be conducted to determine the effectiveness and the usability of the partnership and the translated version of the Food Handler Certification Program. An evaluation will also be conducted to determine the effectiveness of food handler certification with respect to the level of compliance in the food premises. It is expected that a positive behaviour change will result in a decrease in the number of critical infractions found during routine inspections of Chinese restaurants. Conclusions: This innovative partnership enables the delivery of the Food Handler Certification Program, a food safety initiative, to Cantonese-speaking food handlers who might otherwise not participate in a food safety education program. This partnership is being pilot tested to determine the feasibility of offering provincially mandated programs customized to culturally specific groups in culturally appropriate ways. It is an excellent example of the potential for Toronto Public Health to deliver mandated programs and services to the community at minimal or no cost. Furthermore, this partnership reveals Toronto Public Health's sensitivity and responsiveness to a community in need of public health services. Contact Name: Dr. Hazel Stewart Regional Director Toronto Public Health Tel:392-0442 Fax:392-0713 Dr. Sheela V. Basrur Medical Officer of Health Appendix 1 Memorandum of Understanding This is a draft memorandum of understanding between the Ontario Chinese Restaurant and Food Services Association (OCRFA) and Toronto Public Health on the joint pilot partnership project regarding the Chinese language Food Handlers Certification Program. The proposed partnership will be based on the following conditions: 1. The main purpose of the partnership is to empower Chinese speaking food handlers with very limited English language skills to participate in Toronto Public Health's Food Handler Certification Program. 2. The translated Chinese version of the course material will be under the ownership of OCRFA. OCRFA grants permission to Toronto Public Health to use the Chinese translated materials freely. A copy of all Chinese language materials will be provided to Toronto Public Health. 3. The partnership course will be administered by OCRFA. The instructorship of the course will be provided by Toronto Public Health Inspection staff. OCRFA will pay a fee to Toronto Public Health of two hundred dollars per session for the services of the Chinese speaking instructor. OCRFA will pay Toronto Public Health an additional five dollars per student to cover the cost of administering the examinations and certificates. 4. The class size and times for the course will be subjected to instructor approval. In general, the courses should be conducted during business hours, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. 5. The issuance of certificates to students with passing grades will be the responsibility of Toronto Public Health in consultation with OCRFA. The certificates issued will be the Toronto Public Health Certificate. Toronto Public Health grants permission to OCRFA to include a logo or seal on the certificates issued to the successful applicants of the Chinese language Food Handler Certification Program to reflect the partnership between OCRFA and Toronto Public Health. 6. Toronto Public Health agrees to provide updates and revisions of materials as they become available to OCRFA. OCRFA agrees to translate the revised materials and in turn provide the revised translated materials to Toronto Public Health. 7. The pilot project, the course content and the partnership will be evaluated after a trial period of two years. Signed______________________Signed_______________________ Toronto Public HealthOntario Chinese Restaurant and Food Services Association Dated_______________________Dated________________________
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