Janakeeya hotel and community-kitchen teams
Small crews cooking a fixed menu. The whole team learns the same temperature and cleaning routine in one session.
Course snapshot
CourseFood Safety for Catering Training
DurationHalf Day
Validity2 years
CourseFood Safety for Catering
LengthHalf a day
CertificateiMost, valid 2 years
FeeAsk our team
Distance to campusAbout 215 km by road
FoSTaC?No, a separate FSSAI scheme
A city where the regulator, the hospital and the IT park share a skyline
Kerala's food safety department sits in the capital. In September 2022 it ran a two-day FoSTaC course for 120 Kudumbashree entrepreneurs in the district's food production and processing sector at Bhakshya Suraksha Bhavan in Thycaud, as part of the Eat Right Challenge. FSSAI's own Food Safety Supervisor training is delivered through its FoSTaC scheme, and the food safety department has run it locally. Our course is a different product, aimed at the whole team rather than the nominated supervisor.
Three things are asked of a Kerala food handler, and they are often confused. The health card, introduced in early 2023, is a medical fitness certificate from a registered practitioner, with a blood test and a skin and vaccination check, valid for one year. The licence belongs to the business. Training evidence is the record that your people know what to do at the stove. Reports from January 2023 added a further rule: when a hotel is allowed to reopen after an inspection closure, all staff must complete food safety training within two weeks, and the owner must commit to register for hygiene rating within a month. Ask your food safety officer whether the training must come from an FSSAI-authorised provider before you rely on any certificate, ours included.
The district also has a community kitchen sector. At a get-together on 10 December 2022 Kudumbashree counted 106 Janakeeya hotels in Thiruvananthapuram district, run by more than 500 entrepreneurs. Units of that kind have small crews, and a half-day course that the whole crew attends together is easier to organise than sending one supervisor away for a certificate.
Then there are the big institutional kitchens. The medical college hospital, listed at 1,950 beds, sits among other institutions that need their own catering. Technopark's 12.72 million sq ft of built-up space holds restaurants and a club, with a workforce of tens of thousands to feed. When one batch is served to hundreds of people, a lapse in cooling or reheating reaches all of them, so a written temperature routine matters more here than in a small restaurant.
Bhakshya Suraksha Bhavan, Thycaud
Food safety department premises that hosted a FoSTaC course for 120 Kudumbashree entrepreneurs on 16 and 17 September 2022.
Janakeeya hotels
106 units run by more than 500 Kudumbashree entrepreneurs in the district, as reported on 10 December 2022.
Government Medical College Hospital
A 1,950-bed teaching hospital whose patients, staff and visitors all need feeding every day.
Technopark
About 12.72 million sq ft built up, with restaurants and a club on site; it employs tens of thousands of people.
Kerala health card
Mandatory for food handlers from early 2023; a medical fitness certificate with blood tests, valid for one year.
Which Thiruvananthapuram kitchens benefit most
Hospital and institute kitchen staff
Patient diets include people with weak immunity, and the volume means any lapse is multiplied. Cooling, holding and reheating discipline matters most.
Technopark and office-park canteen and food-court staff
Lunch for a large office population arrives at once, so food waits in holding. Staff need to know the danger zone and how to log temperatures.
Hotel and resort kitchen teams from Kovalam to Varkala
Seasonal hiring brings new cooks and stewards each year; a half-day induction gives every newcomer the same start.
Event and wedding caterers
Food is cooked at a base kitchen and served hours later, so transport, holding and reheating are the control points.
Managers reopening after an inspection closure
Reported rules require staff training within two weeks of reopening. A half-day batch is a quick way to start, subject to what the regulator accepts.
Food Safety for Catering, FoSTaC, HACCP or health card
These four are not interchangeable. The health card is each worker's own medical clearance and is needed whatever training you buy. FoSTaC is FSSAI's supervisor scheme. Food Safety for Catering gives all staff the same practical baseline and a training record. HACCP is for the person who writes and maintains the hazard-control plan. If you must choose one first purchase, send the whole kitchen to Food Safety for Catering, then the manager to HACCP.
HACCP Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points Training →
A hospital catering manager, central-kitchen head or quality lead who must build a documented hazard plan.
Basic First Aid Training →
Kitchens full of knives, hot oil and steam that want a trained responder on every shift. Half a day, ₹10,000.
Fire Warden Training →
Large institutional and mall kitchens where gas, fryers and extraction ducts raise the fire risk.
The six modules for a Thiruvananthapuram kitchen
The day alternates classroom teaching with demonstrations, case studies and scenarios, then closes with a written paper, a practical demonstration and oral questions. Here is how to read each module for the capital.
- 01
Introduction to food safety and legislation
How foodborne illness spreads, the vocabulary an inspector uses and what the law expects of the business. This is the module where a team sees why a health card, a licence and a training record are asked for separately.
- 02
Food safety management systems
How a HACCP-based system is monitored, with corrective actions and records. A hospital kitchen can map it to cooked rice and curries held for service; a Janakeeya hotel can map it to fish delivered in the morning.
- 03
Personal hygiene standards
Washing hands, wearing the right clothing and what a handler must do when unwell. The health card tests a person once a year; this module is about behaviour on every shift in between.
- 04
Cleaning, disinfection and waste disposal
Which cleaning agents to use, how to disinfect and how to separate waste. It suits a high-volume kitchen where trays, trolleys and wash areas are shared.
- 05
Contamination risks and controls
Germs, chemicals and foreign objects as contamination sources, plus allergens. Seafood, a staple on this coast, often sits near ready-to-eat items, and that is the case to rehearse.
- 06
Temperature control and monitoring
The bacterial danger zone, thawing, cooking, cooling and reheating, and proper use of a thermometer. For bulk cookers and event caterers this module changes daily habits most.
For Thiruvananthapuram hotels, caterers and institutions
Buyers include hotel and resort groups, event and wedding caterers, hospital and institute catering departments, office-park food operators and Kudumbashree district units. They normally send staff in separate groups so service continues.
Standards that shape training in Kerala
FSS Act 2006 and the FoSTaC schemeFSSAI's supervisor training scheme sits under the Act. Check your licence for the number of certified supervisors it expects per premises.
Kerala health cardA medical fitness certificate with blood tests, valid for one year. Records must be available at the premises for officials.
Hygiene rating and post-closure trainingReported rules ask reopened establishments to train all staff within two weeks and to register for hygiene rating within a month. Confirm current details with the food safety department.
Institutional contractsHospital and campus caterers often work to a contract with its own hygiene schedule. The contract, not this page, decides what evidence is needed.
What employers commonly ask for
| Course | Requirement note |
|---|---|
| Food Safety for Catering Training | A practical baseline for the whole kitchen and a dated training record. It does not replace the health card or a FoSTaC supervisor. |
| HACCP Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points Training | For managers who maintain the written plan in a central or institutional kitchen. |
| Basic First Aid Training | Useful for burns and cuts in a busy kitchen; check what your insurer expects. |
Planning a group booking
- No fee is listed for this course. Send us your headcount and we will quote the rate and any group arrangement.
- Hospital and institute kitchens often run several shifts. Tell us the shift pattern and we will propose batches that never close a service.
- If you were asked to train staff after a closure, share the notice with us so we can say how the course fits and what you should still ask the regulator.
- A corporate account on portal.imostacademy.in/register holds your bookings, invoices and certificate dates, and the two-year expiry becomes easy to track.
Operators and clients set their own requirements; confirm with your contract or HSE department.
Getting a kitchen team to Njarakkal
Plan your visit around the course reporting time, including any same-day journey.
A kitchen group travels together, and somebody must reopen the kitchen next day. Plan the outward trip around the batch and keep the return flexible.
Jan Shatabdi in the early morning
A 2023 timetable lists a departure around 05:55 and arrival at Ernakulam Junction around 09:12. Check NTES for current times. Arriving after nine suits a late-morning batch, so ask us what is scheduled.
Venad Express home in the evening
Per a third-party timetable the Venad Express, 16301, calls at Ernakulam Town at 17:20 and reaches the capital at 22:00 each day. The class should end in good time to catch it.
Hired bus or minibus
About 215 km on NH 66. For a team of twelve to twenty, one vehicle may cost less than separate tickets and keeps the group together. Start early to allow for traffic around the cities.
Planning the training for one kitchen
- 1
Find who touches food
List cooks, stewards, dish-wash staff and drivers. Include anyone who handles food even once a day.
- 2
Check what the regulator asks of you
Look at your licence, any inspection notice and the food safety department's current guidance, and note whether it requires training from an FSSAI-authorised provider.
- 3
Split into groups
Send the head cook and supervisors first, then the others in a second batch so no kitchen is left without a trained lead.
- 4
Request a quote and dates
Send the headcount and a likely month to info@imostacademy.in or on WhatsApp at +91 8075 787307.
- 5
Travel, attend, then file the record
Bring photo ID and comfortable clothes for practical work. Keep each certificate with the health card and licence, and diarise the two-year renewal.