About this course
About this course
Cleaning is one of the most scrutinised elements of food manufacturing hygiene, and one of the areas most commonly raised during customer and certification audits. This Level 3 qualification teaches the technical and operational skills needed to design, validate, run and verify a cleaning programme that stands up to scrutiny and genuinely controls hygiene risk.
Who should attend
The course is aimed at technical managers, quality managers, hygiene managers, cleaning supervisors and production team leaders responsible for cleaning programme design or execution. It is equally valuable for engineering staff supporting cleaning equipment specification and for R and D teams involved in new product and process introduction that affects cleaning requirements. Delegates at sites facing customer complaints, audit findings or allergen incidents linked to cleaning performance typically find the programme directly applicable.
What the programme covers
Content covers the science of cleaning, detergent chemistry, water quality considerations, surface and soil interactions, cleaning method selection, cleaning programme design, validation and verification methodologies, cleaning in place systems, manual cleaning technique, allergen-specific cleaning and hygiene zoning. The programme addresses the particular challenges of high-risk and high-care cleaning, validation of cleaning for allergen control, verification sampling strategy and the design of cleaning programmes that integrate cleanly with production scheduling rather than competing with it.
Assessment and certification
Delegates complete a written examination and a practical assignment. A pass earns a Level 3 qualification in Cleaning Technology and Control, recognised across the food manufacturing sector as formal evidence of hygiene technical competence.
Course format and delivery
The programme runs as a live virtual classroom across multiple sessions with a specialist trainer. Sessions combine methodology teaching with worked examples from real cleaning validation programmes, structured discussion of audit findings and practical exercises in cleaning programme design.
Why this matters
Cleaning failures generate some of the most damaging audit findings and customer complaints in food manufacturing, particularly where allergen or microbiological contamination is involved. A technically competent cleaning team produces tighter validation evidence, reduces customer complaint volumes and supports stronger outcomes in customer and certification audits. The programme also helps control the hidden cost of cleaning, including unnecessary chemical consumption, disproportionate changeover time and rework triggered by verification failures. The course pairs with the BRCGS courses range for wider certification capability, the BRCGS HACCP programme for hazard framework context, and the Food Safety Issue 9 Sites Training for sites working to that Standard.
Explore the full STC courses and training range or see the wider course catalogue for related programmes.
