By DAWN BONE / Community Columnist

Ten students in Shelby County High School Family and Consumer Sciences program and 20 students in Montevallo High School’s Culinary program recently took the ServSafe Manager Credential Exam.

ServSafe is a food and beverage safety training and certificate program administered by the National Restaurant Association.

The program is accredited by ANSI and the Conference for Food Protection.

Six Shelby County High students were within six points of passing the exam and four students passed the exam.

All of these students are in Alana Ray’s Dietetics class.

Seventeen students in Brandi Eade’s Culinary class passed the exam and will receive their ServSafe Manager Certificate.

The 90-question Manager exam is in-depth, is divided into sections and is the most difficult ServSafe exam to take.

It covers topics such as time and temperature control, preventing cross-contamination, cleaning and sanitizing, safe food preparation and receiving and storing food.

It also covers methods of thawing, cooking, cooling and reheating food.

Students have been preparing for the test since January.

Ray and Eades went over the lessons from ServSafe with their classes, but also integrated them into food labs so students could put the new knowledge to practice.

Not only will the training help them if they choose a career in the food industry, but it will also help them incorporate safe food practices at home.

Students took online practice tests, some generated by their teachers and some generated by ServSafe, ahead of time so they would be better prepared for the actual exam.

Austin Kelley, an 11th grader at Shelby County High School, was one of the four students to pass the exam at SCHS.

“Mrs. Ray told our class that four people passed,” he said. “She announced three names and when she said, ‘There is one person left,’ I really didn’t think it was me. I was very excited when she called my name. I have always wanted to get recognized at awards day, and this year I will. I will also use this credential to find a summer job in the food industry.”