Food Safety Program	Food Safety at Home	Food Safety at Restaurants	YorkSafe	PROTON	Special Event	Food Safety Resources	Food Recall Alerts

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What is PROTON?

PROTON is a food handling training program designed for anyone working in the food industry or anyone interested in learning about the basic concepts of food safety.

This program is facilitated by certified Public Health Inspectors and is offered either through a one-day workshop or a self-study method.

Participants will learn how to reduce the risk of food-borne illness by understanding how to safely prepare, store and serve food.

Topics include:

• inspection and legislation
• hazard analysis critical control points 
• basic microbiology
• safe food sources and storage
• personal hygiene
• cross-contamination issues
• time/temperature abuse

All participants will become certified food handlers if they pass the exam. PROTON certificates are valid for five years and are recognized throughout Ontario. A passing mark of 70% on the exam is required for your certificate.

Benefits of PROTON

• Being trained and certified in food handling will provide you with the knowledge and skills to help prevent food-borne illnesses
• The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care – Food Safety Protocol 2008, highly recommends that a minimum of one owner/operator and one food handler be certified at a food premises, and that a certified food handler be present at all times during operation
• YorkSafe's proof of inspection signs acknowledge, with a check box, when food establishments have at least one certified food handler on-site at the time of inspection.

Course Details

The PROTON course is currently offered in English and Chinese.

	One-day Workshop	Self-Study method
Course details:	The workshop option, is a full day training sessions taught by York Region Public Health Inspectors. The workshops are offered monthly at our office locations.	The self-study method, has been designed for those who prefer to learn at their own pace or who cannot attend a full day training session. Study manuals are available in English and Chinese. The self-study exams are held monthly at our office locations.
Cost:	$48.00 One day workshop (with manual) includes: manual, lecture, exam, certificate and probe thermometer $39.00 One day workshop (no manual) includes: lecture, exam, certificate and probe thermometer	$22.00 Self-study (with manual) includes: manual, exam and certificate $13.00 Self-study (no manual) includes: exam and certificate
Registration and course manuals:	All workshop or self-study participants must register and pay for the PROTON course prior to attending. You can pick-up course manuals and register at the York Region Community and Health Services offices, Monday-Friday (except holidays) between 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. It is highly recommended that you review the manual prior to the course in preparation for the exam. Download the English manual or the Chinese manual.
Payments:	Payment can be made by cash or cheque. Make cheques payable to The Regional Municipality of York. Prices are subject to change without notice
Schedule of dates:	May to August 2013
	NOTE: Additional workshops or self-study examinations can be scheduled for groups of 10 or more. We reserve the right to cancel a course if there are not enough registrants.