Food safety proctor accused of letting students cheatFood safety proctor accused of letting students cheat

Lisa Jennings

ORLANDO Fla. The food safety credentials of 27 foodservice workers in central Florida were revoked recently because of alleged improprieties by the proctor who administered their exams.

The foodservice workers are not accused of wrongdoing, but will be required to retake the test to become certified, the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals said last week.

The incident is the latest example of the National Registry’s attempt to crack down on what some say is a growing number of people attempting to cheat the system under growing pressure to improve food-safety standards.

Under the laws of 20 states, restaurant operators must have at least one employee who has passed an accredited food-safety certification exam. Another 36 states have at least one jurisdiction with similar requirements. The National Registry is one of three groups accredited to develop the food-safety certification exams as well as to approve and oversee the proctors who administer the test.

The proctor under investigation is an employee of a central Florida county school system, who taught a food-safety certification class on the side.

According to the allegations, most of the students in the food-safety class took the test in class, as is required. But for students who missed the test date, the proctor allegedly e-mailed the live test to them. They returned answers, which the proctor filled onto the test form.

The improper practice, which may have gone on for several years, not only allowed students to cheat, it also compromised the safety of the exam questions, said Larry Lynch, president and chief executive of the National Registry.

As a result, the organization has had to spend about $100,000 replacing the exam questions because they were potentially widely exposed. Lynch said the students believed they were taking the test legitimately.

“This alleged breach has significantly inconvenienced many innocent people and created an unnecessary financial burden for a number of food establishments and other businesses," Lynch said. “But what we all should have is zero tolerance for any conduct that jeopardizes public health in any way, shape or form.”

Last year, a similar incident in California resulted in the invalidation of more than 730 certificates held by foodservice workers there. (EARLIER: Calif. food-safety flap fuels system’s critics)

That incident, which involved improprieties by three exam givers, caused San Francisco public health officials to call for stricter oversight of the food-safety certification process, which many say is key to preventing foodborne illness.

“This is happening with greater frequency,” Lynch said. “As the certification becomes more highly regarded, it becomes more popular for people to attempt to game the system.”

Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].