Level 2 Food Safety & Hygiene

Buying more than 10 courses?
Our volume discounts are perfect for training teams, you can mix and match most of our courses to make a saving on your order!
10% off orders of 10 or more courses
20% off orders of 25 or more courses
30% off orders of 50 or more courses
40% off orders of 100 or more courses
Do you handle or prepare food at work? Our RoSPA-assured Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene course covers everything you need to know about safe food handling, storage and preparation. From temperature control to allergen management, you'll learn practical skills you can use straight away in your career.
This course meets UK/EU Food Hygiene Training Requirements.
Course Level: Level 2
Accreditation: RoSPA Assured, CPD Certified
Certificate: Self printed or posted
Last Updated: 20th November 2023
Description
Our food safety and hygiene course is perfect for anyone who works with, or handles food, and wants to meet the UK food training requirements.
Our popular Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene course has been re-designed and includes all the latest legislation, information and up-to-date guidance.
We also offer Level 2 Food Hygiene for: Catering | Manufacturing | Drinks Manufacturers | Retail.
If you are a Supervisor, Manager, Business Owner or Team Leader working with or handling food we would recommend you complete our RoSPA Assured Level 3 Food Safety and Hygiene for Supervisors course.
This essential food safety certificate is the right level for anyone handling or preparing food professionally. This could be anywhere food is prepared, from busy commercial kitchens to school canteens, proper food hygiene knowledge protects both your customers and your business's reputation.
Our Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene course breaks down complex food safety principles into practical, real-world skills. Rather than just memorising rules, you'll understand the reason behind each practice.
It is important for anyone who works with, or handles, food to be aware of the latest food safety and hygiene standards, and our online course is the ideal way to meet them.
This Level 2 Food Hygiene course is aimed at anyone who works with, or handles, food at events such as bake sales, charity events or church fêtes.
It covers all the topics you need to know to comply with UK’s food standards including how to store and freeze food safely, how to clean and disinfect equipment, the importance of pest control, the food laws, food allergens and much more.
Overall, it will help build your confidence to ensure the safety of both you and your customers.
We are delighted to announce that our popular Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene has been re-designed. Not only does it have a design that is modern and meets accessibility standards, but it has also been restructured to create a journey that better fits your needs.
Our courses are designed with the learner in mind and this course is no different. To ensure it can easily fit into your schedule, it is broken down into bite-sized chunks which can be worked through in any order and at any time, ensuring that you can tailor the training to your needs and go at your own pace.
Accredited courses that support your career
When you learn with Virtual College, you're choosing one of the UK's most trusted providers of online training courses. This Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene course carries dual accreditation from leading industry bodies:
RoSPA: Our RoSPA assurance demonstrates that your training meets rigorous quality standards for content and delivery. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents thoroughly reviews our course material to ensure it provides accurate, up-to-date food industry training you can rely on.
CPD accredited: The course is also fully CPD accredited, earning you valuable Continuing Professional Development hours while you study. This certification confirms that your learning aligns with recognised professional development standards across the industry.
Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) across the UK accept and recognise our certification and our training materials are regularly updated with latest industry guidance and legislative updates.
Take your career in food further
If you're moving into a supervisory or management role, our Level 3 Food Safety and Hygiene for Supervisors course provides the additional skills you need to implement and oversee food safety procedures across your team.
Specialise your knowledge with:
- Allergen Awareness Training - Essential for anyone handling food or managing those who do.
HACCP Level 2 Training - Learn about hazard analysis and critical control points in order to implement a plan for your business.
Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene Certificate
The content of this food and hygiene level 2 course is RoSPA Assured. Upon successful completion, learners will receive a digital RoSPA Assured Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene Certificate with the option to updgrade to receive a high quality posted certificate too.
Course duration
Our Level 2 Food Hygiene course will take approximately 2-3 hours to complete. As an e-learning module, this training can be completed in convenient stages. The system will automatically record your progress throughout.
Target audience
This food hygiene level 2 course has been designed for anyone who works with or handles food in any workplace setting such as schools, restaurants, cafes, bars, nurseries and many, many more.
Entry requirements
There are no specific entry requirements for this Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene course.
Test and Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate
The end of course test consists of 30 multiple choice questions. Learners are required to achieve a 75% pass mark, and, if necessary, may attempt the test six times at no extra cost.
If learners do not achieve the 75% pass mark, further attempts may be given by contacting our learner support team.
Upon completing the food hygiene course, learners will be able to download a digital food hygiene RoSPA assured certificate from Virtual College. If you have bought the posted food hygiene certificate option, a high quality, seal embossed, certificate will be sent out the following working week after completion.
This certification is universally recognised and can be used to provide evidence of food hygiene and safety training both internally and to external auditors.
There is no set time for how long a certificate is valid for, but the accepted industry standard is for food hygiene certificates to be renewed every three years. However, some employers may require you to renew your certification more frequently than this.
This online food hygiene course is not a formal RQF food safety & hygiene qualification, the levels only indicate the type of food and hygiene course so that businesses can choose whom it is suitable for.
What you'll learn
- An introduction to food safety and hygiene
- The impact of food-borne illnesses
- Understanding food law
- Food safety hazards and contamination
- Food preservation, storage and temperature control
- Personal Hygiene
- Hygienic premises and equipment
- HACCP
Suitable for
- Anyone who works with, or handles, food
- Anyone who works in a food environment
Certification
At the end of this food hygiene course, you will need to complete a test that consists of 30 multiple choice questions. Learners are required to achieve a 75% pass mark, and - if necessary - may attempt the test three times at no extra cost. If learners do not achieve the 75% pass mark, further attempts may be given by contacting our support team.
Posted & Digital Food Hygiene Certificate
Upon completing the food hygiene course, learners will be able to download a digital food hygiene certificate from Virtual College. If you have bought the posted food hygiene certificate option, a high quality, seal embossed, certificate will be sent out the following working week after completion.
This certification is universally recognised and can be used to provide evidence of food hygiene and safety training both internally and to external auditors.
There is no set time for how long a certificate is valid for, but the accepted industry standard is for food hygiene certificates to be renewed every three years. However, some employers may require you to renew your certification more frequently than this.
This online food hygiene course is not a formal RQF food safety & hygiene qualification, the levels only indicate the type of food and hygiene course so that businesses can choose whom it is suitable for.

Self-Printed Certificate Option
Upon completion of the course, a digital certificate will be available to download instantly.
Posted Certificate option
A high quality, seal embossed, certificate will be sent out at the beginning of the next working week.
Recommended renewal: 3 years
Whilst none of our certificates have an expiry date it is strongly recommended that the training is completed every three years. This is based on industry best practice to ensure awareness and knowledge of the latest guidance and legislation.
Frequently Asked Questions
While there is no expiry date on food hygiene certificates, it is widely recognised within the industry that renewal should take place every three years. Some employers, however, may require their staff to renew their certifications every year as part of their ongoing workplace training.
Food employers have the freedom to decide when they feel a refresher course is necessary for their workforce. Usually re-training occurs when there has been a change in food legislation or technical developments in food hygiene.
Read more here.
Recent Reviews
19th July 2025
Super easy to use and a comprehensive…
Super easy to use and a comprehensive training schedule - thank you very much!
19th July 2025
Great
Easy to navigate
18th July 2025
Level 2 health & Safety within the catering world. With using virtual college
With using virtual college, it was quick and easy to pay and access my chosen course. I had a choice of using different methods on what type of device that I could use which was great for me. The course was very informative and I learnt a lot and the assessment at the end was good & you have a certificate that you can download straight away. Very highly recommend.
18th July 2025
Easy to access the Training
The process of purchasing the training (in this case combined offer of Allergy Awareness and Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene) was easy as was the ability to access and complete the training. The online training system works well. The Food Allergy course was comprehensive and well structured my only criticism is that the Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene is not as well structured with the same material repeated may times in different places so the course could be made much shorter.
18th July 2025
Very good everything completed…
Very good everything completed professionally
18th July 2025
Found the training easy to access and…
Found the training easy to access and navigate through different sections
17th July 2025
Very easy to follow well constructed…
Very easy to follow well constructed course
17th July 2025
The system was easy to use and things…
The system was easy to use and things were clear throughout
17th July 2025
easy to complete
easy to complete very informative
17th July 2025
Very informative
Very informative. Well navigated and explained in ways I could understand with out jargon that can often get in the way.
Excellent
4.7 out of 5
15858 Reviews on