Food Safety for Delivery Drivers and Couriers

Food does not stop being a food safety matter when it leaves the kitchen. It travels in a bag or a box, on a bike, a moped, in a car or a van, and ends up in front of a customer who trusts that it is safe to eat. This course is a short, plain-English guide to keeping food safe on that journey, from the kitchen door to the customer’s door.

Who this course is for

• Riders and drivers who deliver food or groceries, whether employed, agency, self-employed or gig, by bike, moped, car or van
• Restaurant, takeaway, café and shop staff who pack orders or hand them over to riders
• Owners and managers of small businesses starting to deliver, such as takeaways, cafés, bakeries, home cooks and shops
• Businesses that want a short food safety course for their delivery team

What you’ll learn

• The five stages of a delivery, how customers order, who is a food business and must register, and the 4Cs on the road
• Staying clean and fit to handle food: when to wash your hands, clothing and habits, and when you must not handle food
• Packing and carrying food: keeping hot food hot, cold food cold, and raw, ready-to-eat and non-food items apart
• Allergens from order to doorstep: the 14 allergens, labels and stickers, the right customer, and the NHS steps for a severe reaction
• Keeping bags, boxes and vehicles clean, between loads and after raw food or a spill
• When things go wrong: spills, wrong bags and doubts, telling the business, and your delivery checklist

How it works

Six lessons, each split into short topics with a “Remember” box at the end. Every lesson finishes with its own assessment of 10 questions drawn at random from its question bank, so no two attempts are the same. The course ends with a final exam of 20 questions drawn from a bank of more than 40 covering everything. The pass mark is 80% and you get three attempts at each assessment. Finish the course and your certificate, with your name and a reference anyone can check, is issued to My Account → Certificates.

12 months’ access · any device · certificate the moment you pass

Worth being clear about: this is a short course about food safety on deliveries. It is not a qualification, it is not a full food hygiene course, first aid training or a road safety course, and it is not legal advice about who counts as the food business in a delivery arrangement. It does not replace the training the business you work for gives you. It covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a short note for Scotland, which has its own body, Food Standards Scotland.

Course content

• Before you startLesson
• The delivery journey and who is responsibleLesson
• From kitchen door to front doorTopic
• How a customer ordersTopic
• Is this a food business? RegistrationTopic
• New risks when a business starts deliveringTopic
• The 4Cs on the roadTopic
• Where to get help, and a note for ScotlandTopic
• Scenario: Priya’s pizzas start deliveringTopic
• 🎮 Practice: The delivery journeyTopic
• Lesson Assessment: The delivery journey and who is responsibleQuiz
• Staying clean and fit to handle foodLesson
• Germs travel with youTopic
• When to wash your handsTopic
• Clothing and habitsTopic
• When you must not handle foodTopic
• Tell the business, and coming backTopic
• Training and recordsTopic
• Scenario: A stomach upset on a busy FridayTopic
• 🎮 Practice: Wash or do not handle?Topic
• Lesson Assessment: Staying clean and fit to handle foodQuiz
• Packing and carrying food: hot, cold and apartLesson
• Packaging that protectsTopic
• Keeping hot food hotTopic
• Keeping cold food coldTopic
• Time, and checking temperaturesTopic
• Keeping things apartTopic
• Cold and frozen ordersTopic
• Scenario: Hot soup, cold dessert and raw chickenTopic
• 🎮 Practice: Hot or cold?Topic
• Lesson Assessment: Packing and carrying food: hot, cold and apartQuiz
• Allergens from order to doorstepLesson
• The 14 allergensTopic
• Two stages: before they buy and when it arrivesTopic
• Labels and stickersTopic
• Packed apart and handed to the right customerTopic
• If a customer asks you a questionTopic
• If someone has a serious allergic reactionTopic
• Scenario: A question about the sauceTopic
• 🎮 Practice: Rider or business?Topic
• Lesson Assessment: Allergens from order to doorstepQuiz
• Bags, boxes and vehicles: keeping them cleanLesson
• What vehicles and containers must beTopic
• Cars, vans and bikesTopic
• Between loadsTopic
• Cleaning and disinfectingTopic
• Cleaning after raw food or a spillTopic
• Having a cleaning routineTopic
• Scenario: A van with cleaning supplies and parcelsTopic
• 🎮 Practice: Cleaning between loadsTopic
• Lesson Assessment: Bags, boxes and vehicles: keeping them cleanQuiz
• When things go wrong, and your part in the systemLesson
• Spills, wrong bags and doubtsTopic
• Telling the businessTopic
• The business’s food safety system and recordsTopic
• Local authority checks and food hygiene ratingsTopic
• Your delivery checklistTopic
• Scenario: A bag tips at the red lightTopic
• 🎮 Practice: If an order is spilledTopic
• Lesson Assessment: When things go wrong, and your part in the systemQuiz
• Course summaryLesson
• Final examQuiz