R638 Explained: Food Safety Training Rules for Restaurants
If you run a restaurant, takeaway, coffee shop, food truck or catering kitchen in South Africa, you are bound by R638. Most owners know they need a Certificate of Acceptability. Fewer know that the same regulations make the person in charge responsible for training every staff member, checking that the training works, and keeping records an inspector can ask to see. This page sets out what the regulations require, in plain language.
What is R638?
R638 is the short name for the Regulations Governing General Hygiene Requirements for Food Premises, the Transport of Food and Related Matters, published as Government Notice R638 on 22 June 2018 under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972. It replaced the earlier R962 regulations of 2012. It is enforced by environmental health practitioners (inspectors) employed by your municipality.
It applies to any food premises: a building, stall, vehicle, stand or place used for handling food. That includes restaurants, franchise outlets, takeaways, bakeries, caterers, food trucks and spaza shops.
The Certificate of Acceptability
No one may handle food on a premises without a valid Certificate of Acceptability issued by the local authority. It is issued after an application and an inspection, must be displayed where it can be seen (or produced on request, for example on a vehicle), and must be applied for again when the person in charge or the owner changes, or when the premises or the type of food handled changes significantly.
What the premises must meet
The regulations set standards for the building itself, facilities such as hand-wash basins and toilets, containers and equipment, the display, storage and temperature of food, and protective clothing. Inspectors check these on every visit.
The training duties of the person in charge
The “person in charge” is the natural person responsible for the premises, or the owner. Regulation 10(1) gives that person four training duties:
| Duty | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Their own training (10(1)(a)) | The person in charge must be suitably qualified or otherwise adequately trained in the principles and practices of food safety and hygiene. Where training is used, the regulation requires it to be accredited or conducted by an inspector. This came into force in June 2019. |
| Staff training (10(1)(b)) | Everyone else working on the premises must be suitably qualified or adequately trained in food safety and hygiene, by an inspector or any other suitable person. This includes kitchen staff, waiters who handle food, cleaners and delivery staff. |
| Checking it works (10(1)(c)) | Routine assessments must be done to see whether the training has made a difference, with follow-up training where needed. A once-off course is not enough. |
| Records (10(1)(d)) | Training programmes and records must be kept, updated, and shown to an inspector on request. |
The person in charge’s other duties
- Making sure the premises and staff meet the regulations at all times.
- Effective pest control and proper storage and removal of refuse and waste water.
- Keeping food areas clean and free of animals, and food protected from contamination.
- Making sure food handlers don’t wear jewellery when handling unpacked food, and that ready-to-eat food isn’t handled with bare hands where avoidable.
- Keeping a record of staff who report illnesses that can spread through food.
- Keeping records, following labelling rules, and having a system to trace and recall food.
What every food handler must do
Regulation 11 sets the rules for food handlers themselves: clean hands, clothing and short, clean nails; washing hands with soap and water at the right times, including at the start of a shift, after the toilet, after handling raw food and before handling ready-to-eat food; covering wounds with a waterproof dressing; not handling food while ill with a condition that can spread through food (such as diarrhoea, vomiting or fever) until a medical practitioner certifies them fit; and no spitting, smoking, coughing or sneezing over food.
What an inspector may ask to see
- Your Certificate of Acceptability, displayed.
- Proof of the person in charge’s qualification or accredited training.
- Staff training records: who was trained, on what, and when.
- Evidence of routine assessments and follow-up training.
- Pest control records, cleaning schedules and temperature records.
- Your illness reporting record and any medical fitness certificates.
How HospiTrain helps
Hygiene Ready Food Handler trains your staff in food safety and hygiene for Regulation 10(1)(b): workplace health and safety, food allergens, cleaning and sanitising, and safe storage and stock rotation. It works on any phone, and is available in English and isiZulu.
Hygiene Ready Monthly gives each store a short monthly refresher, a simple store assessment and follow-up lessons, covering the routine assessments in 10(1)(c).
Records: our reports show who has completed what and when, and we give every client a compliance file to keep them in one place for 10(1)(d).
Hygiene Ready Manager prepares managers to run all of this in their store. For the person in charge’s own training under 10(1)(a), the regulation requires accredited training or training by an inspector, or a suitable qualification. HospiTrain courses are not accredited, so speak to us about pairing Hygiene Ready Manager with an accredited person-in-charge course.
Frequently asked questions
Do my waiters need training? If they handle food, utensils or food-contact surfaces, they are food handlers, and the regulation expects them to be trained.
Does staff training have to be accredited? Regulation 10(1)(b) requires training by an inspector or any other suitable person; it does not require accreditation. The person in charge’s own training is different (see above).
How often must staff be retrained? The regulation doesn’t set a fixed interval. It requires routine assessments and follow-up training where needed, so regular refreshers and checks are the practical answer.
Will HospiTrain make my premises compliant? No training provider can promise that; your inspector decides. What we do is give you the training, the refreshers and the records the regulation asks the person in charge to have.