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SPA Passport – Food & Drink Renewal Classroom Course

The SPA Passport – Food and Drink Renewal is a one-day refresher for people who already hold an in-date SPA Food and Drink passport. Its purpose is to provide updated information and areas of responsibility for health, safety and environment, concentrating on risks found specifically in the food and drink industry.

The course helps you understand the implications of hazard recognition and risk assessment, the effects on both the individual and the employer, and how individual behaviour can help reduce accidents. Successful completion revalidates the passport for a further three years without repeating the full two-day course.

Course Details

  • Duration: 1 day
  • Format: Classroom training
  • Awarding body: Safety Pass Alliance (SPA)
  • Assessment: Multiple-choice paper at the end of each module
  • Suitable for: Existing SPA Food and Drink passport holders within 6 months of expiry
  • Prerequisites: A current, in-date SPA Food and Drink passport
  • Cost: From £195 + VAT
  • Passport: Renewed for a further 3 years

Prices vary by provider, location and delivery format. Use the course search below to compare dates and fees.

View Classroom Course Dates

 

Am I eligible for the renewal course?

You are eligible if you hold a current SPA Food and Drink passport that has not yet expired, and the course date falls within the six months before your expiry date.

Renewing early costs you nothing. SPA keeps your original anniversary date — only the year of expiry changes — so a passport renewed three months early still expires on its original date, three years on. There is no time gained or lost.

SPA’s own advice is to book early within the window rather than leave it late. If a course is cancelled at short notice and the next available date falls outside your six-month window, you lose the renewal option and face the full two-day course.

There is no grace period. SPA withdrew the three-month post-expiry rule across all its schemes on 31 July 2020, so the expiry date printed on your card is the definitive point at which the passport ceases to be valid. If yours has already expired you must sit the full two-day Core Day + Food & Drink course again.

Food and Drink Renewal course objectives

On completion of the SPA Food and Drink Renewal course you will have the knowledge to:

  • Demonstrate your understanding of the subjects by successfully completing each module assessment paper
  • Appreciate how you personally can influence good standards within health, safety and environment
  • Understand the value of risk assessment and have the knowledge to recognise when change to a generic assessment is required
  • Understand the common hazards associated with working in this sector

SPA Food & Drink Renewal course content

The one-day programme condenses the full syllabus into a refresher across the following areas.

Legislation and safe systems

  • A review of legislation and the risk assessment process
  • Safe place of work, safe behaviours

Contamination and food protection

  • Type of contamination sources, chemical, physical and microbial
  • Food contamination, personal hygiene, protective clothing
  • Reporting of illnesses, personal and company responsibilities

Environmental considerations

  • Environmental considerations, air, water and land pollution and anti pollution controls

Housekeeping and site hazards

Health hazards, fire and explosion

  • Health hazards, substances, temperature extremes hygienic designs and modifications
  • Fire and explosion risks and control measures

Programme may be subject to change without prior notification.

Safety passport issue

Successfully completing all assessment papers will result in a renewed safety passport being issued. The new SPA Food and Drink passport is valid for 3 years and can be refreshed anytime during the 6 months before the expiry date.

Successful delegates are registered on the national SPA database and issued a passport photo card carrying their name, photograph, personalised ID number and revised expiry date. Employers and site operators can verify a passport directly with SPA.

Resit arrangements for a failed module paper are set by the individual training provider rather than by SPA, so ask the provider what their policy is when you book.

Renewal or full course — which do I need?

It depends entirely on whether your current passport has expired.

Your situation Course required Duration
Passport expires within 6 months Renewal 1 day
Passport expires in more than 6 months Wait until inside the 6-month window —
Passport has already expired Core Day + Food & Drink 2 days
Never held a Food and Drink passport Core Day + Food & Drink 2 days

Exemptions apply to the Core Day of the full two-day course, not to the renewal. If you are booking the full course because your passport lapsed, it is worth asking the provider whether another health and safety qualification you hold might exempt you from day one.

Related training and progression
Find a SPA Food & Drink Renewal course near me

Classroom renewal courses run at venues across England. If you are looking for a course near you, find dates in your area:

Or compare all SPA Food & Drink Renewal courses in the UK across every format.

SPA Passport – Food & Drink Renewal Online Instructor-Led Course

The SPA Food and Drink Renewal online instructor-led course is a live, tutor-led version of the one-day refresher delivered remotely by video conference. It follows the same Safety Pass Alliance syllabus as classroom training and revalidates the same SPA Food and Drink passport for a further three years.

This is not self-paced e-learning. It is live, interactive training with a qualified tutor, where delegates ask questions and sit the module assessments in real time. Renewing online suits people who would otherwise lose a day to travel for a single-day course. If you would rather attend in person, see the classroom courses.

Course Details

  • Duration: 1 day
  • Format: Live online instructor-led training
  • Awarding body: Safety Pass Alliance (SPA)
  • Platform: Zoom or Microsoft Teams, depending on provider
  • Assessment: Multiple-choice paper at the end of each module
  • Suitable for: Existing SPA Food and Drink passport holders within 6 months of expiry
  • Prerequisites: A current, in-date SPA Food and Drink passport
  • Cost: From £195 + VAT
  • Equipment needed: PC or laptop with webcam, microphone and stable internet
  • Passport: Renewed for a further 3 years

Prices vary by provider and delivery format. Use the course search below to compare dates and fees.

View Online Course Dates & Fees

 

Am I eligible for the renewal course?

You are eligible if you hold a current SPA Food and Drink passport that has not yet expired, and the course date falls within the six months before your expiry date.

Renewing early costs you nothing. SPA keeps your original anniversary date — only the year of expiry changes — so a passport renewed three months early still expires on its original date, three years on. There is no time gained or lost.

SPA’s own advice is to book early within the window rather than leave it late. If a course is cancelled at short notice and the next available date falls outside your six-month window, you lose the renewal option and face the full two-day course.

There is no grace period. SPA withdrew the three-month post-expiry rule across all its schemes on 31 July 2020, so the expiry date printed on your card is the definitive point at which the passport ceases to be valid. If yours has already expired you must sit the full two-day Core Day + Food & Drink course again.

Is the online renewal the same as the classroom renewal?

Yes in every respect that matters. The syllabus, the assessments and the passport are set by the Safety Pass Alliance, not by where the course is held. A delegate renewing online receives exactly the same SPA Food and Drink passport as one who attends in person, and site operators make no distinction between them.

Remote delivery is permitted by SPA for this scheme. SPA accredited providers deliver both classroom and remote courses across the UK and Ireland using Zoom or Microsoft Teams. The one notable exception in the SPA range is Core Construction (CSCS), which remains classroom-only; Food and Drink is not affected by that restriction.

The differences are practical rather than substantive: no travel, no venue, and assessments completed on screen under webcam supervision.

Food and Drink Renewal course objectives

On completion of the SPA Food and Drink Renewal course you will have the knowledge to:

  • Demonstrate your understanding of the subjects by successfully completing each module assessment paper
  • Appreciate how you personally can influence good standards within health, safety and environment
  • Understand the value of risk assessment and have the knowledge to recognise when change to a generic assessment is required
  • Understand the common hazards associated with working in this sector

The full course content is set out on the classroom tab.

Why renew online?
  • Revalidate without losing a day to travel — worth more on a one-day course than a two-day one
  • Learn from a live qualified tutor in real time, not a recorded module
  • No travel, accommodation or overnight costs
  • Ask questions and interact with the tutor throughout
  • Same renewed SPA Food and Drink passport as classroom training
  • Suits contractors and teams working across several food and drink sites whose cards expire at different times
  • Usually a wider choice of dates than classroom, since courses are not tied to a venue
How is the online renewal assessed?
  • Module papers: A multiple-choice paper at the end of each module, completed on screen during the course
  • ID verification: Delegates must verify their identity and remain visible on webcam during assessments
  • Passport: Successful delegates are registered on the national SPA database and issued a renewed passport photocard valid for three years

There is no post-course project and no external examination. Resit arrangements for a failed module paper are set by the individual training provider rather than by SPA, so ask the provider what their policy is when you book.

Equipment and technical requirements
  • A PC or laptop with a working webcam and microphone — mobile phones are not suitable and most providers will not accept them
  • A camera position that shows your face, upper body and desk area during assessments
  • A stable broadband connection. Connection quality is the delegate’s responsibility
  • Zoom or Microsoft Teams installed and tested before the course starts
  • A quiet, private space for the day
  • Your current passport or card details to hand

You do not usually need your own Zoom or Teams account — providers send a joining link by email. Joining instructions, including setup guidance, are issued in advance of the course start date.

Safety passport issue

Successfully completing all assessment papers will result in a renewed safety passport being issued. The new SPA Food and Drink passport is valid for 3 years and can be refreshed anytime during the 6 months before the expiry date.

Successful delegates are registered on the national SPA database and issued a passport photocard carrying their name, photograph, personalised ID number and revised expiry date. Employers and site operators can verify a passport directly with SPA.

Renewal or full course — which do I need?

It depends entirely on whether your current passport has expired.

Your situation Course required Duration
Passport expires within 6 months Renewal 1 day
Passport expires in more than 6 months Wait until inside the 6-month window —
Passport has already expired Core Day + Food & Drink 2 days
Never held a Food and Drink passport Core Day + Food & Drink 2 days
Related training and progression

Training more than one person on this course?

If you have a group to put through this course, it can be delivered at your own premises or a venue near you, on a date that suits your shift patterns. No travel, no overnight stays, and priced for the group rather than per person — which usually works out cheaper per head than booking individual places.

Tell us the numbers and roughly where you are, and we will come back with a written quote. Purchase orders and invoicing welcome.

Get a group quote