MADISON, Wis. – The 2015 Dairy-Deli-Bake Seminar and Expo will feature a free ServSafe certification class and exam on June 10, the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association (IDDBA) announced. The class is open to 70 attendees.

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) administers the food and beverage safety training and certificate program, which is accredited by the American Standards Institute and the Conference for Food Protection. Chris Koch, an associate adjunct professor at Drexel Univ.’s School of Sports Management and Hospitality in Philadelphia will conduct the class. Koch has served as a certified instructor of ServSafe Manager’s Food Safety and Food Handler programs for more than 15 years.


“Food safety is an important pillar of IDDBA’s mission to help dairy, deli, and bakery departments operate more successfully and to help provide safe products to their customers, “said Mary Kay O’Connor, vice president, education, IDDBA. “We’re pleased to help industry professionals further their food safety knowledge by offering this highly regarded and respected certification class.”

The free ServSafe course is a main component of IDDBA's Safe Food Matters! campaign aimed at building awareness about specific food safety practices that retailers can implement in service departments. IDDBA's main initiative for 2015 is to help reduce the possibility ofListeria monocytogenesin fresh departments, particularly delis.