Last updated: 1 August 2026
This Certification & Assessment Policy explains how assessment and certification work across the Courses provided by Interic Ltd, trading as Food Safe Ireland ("Food Safe Ireland", "we", "us", "our") through foodsafeireland.ie. It forms part of our Terms and Conditions. Specific rules for an individual Course are set out on that Course's page and take precedence where they differ from this Policy.
On successful completion of a Course, we issue a Food Safe Ireland certificate of completion. Many of our Courses are also CPD accredited, and where this applies it is stated on the Course page along with the CPD value where relevant. Unless a Course expressly states that it carries a specific external or statutory award, our certificate is a certificate of completion and CPD recognition, and is not a state qualification or award.
Courses may include knowledge checks, quizzes, practical tasks and final assessments. The format, length, time limits and rules of assessment vary by Course and are explained within the Course itself. You should make sure you understand the assessment requirements before you begin.
Unless a different pass mark is stated on the Course page, the pass mark for our assessments is 70%. Some Courses set a higher or course-specific pass mark, which will always be clearly stated.
Where a Course permits resits, the number of attempts allowed is set out on the Course page. Where no specific limit is stated, a reasonable number of re-attempts is permitted. If you are unable to pass after the permitted attempts, please contact us and we will advise on the options available, which may include re-enrolment.
Certificates are personal to the named learner, and you must complete assessments yourself, honestly, and without unauthorised assistance. We may take reasonable steps to confirm that the person completing an assessment is the learner named on the Account. For training delivered to supervised minors through a youth group or organisation, the responsible leader is expected to confirm the identity of each learner.
Certificates are issued automatically once you have met the completion and pass requirements for a Course. Your certificate will show your name as it appears on your Account, the Course title, the date of completion and, where applicable, the expiry date and CPD value. Please ensure your details are accurate before completing a Course. For learners enrolled through a youth group or organisation, certificates are issued in the learner's name and provided to the responsible leader.
The validity period of a certificate depends on the Course and the subject matter. Our certificates are typically valid for 3 years from the date of issue, unless a different validity period is stated on the relevant Course page. Where a certificate has an expiry date, you are responsible for renewing your training before it lapses. We may, as a courtesy, send you a reminder before your certificate expires, but it remains your responsibility to keep your training current.
You can usually download your certificate again from your Account at any time while your Account is active. If you need a replacement and cannot access it yourself, contact us and we will help where we reasonably can.
We keep records of completed Courses and issued certificates so that they can be verified by you, your employer or a relevant third party. We reserve the right to withdraw or invalidate a certificate that was obtained through error, impersonation, cheating or other malpractice.
Assessment malpractice includes cheating, impersonation, collusion, plagiarism, sharing assessment questions or answers, and using unauthorised assistance or materials. Where we have reasonable grounds to believe malpractice has occurred, we may suspend the assessment or Account, investigate, invalidate affected results and certificates, and, in serious cases, terminate the Account. No refund is due where a certificate is invalidated for malpractice.
If you believe an assessment result or a decision under this Policy is incorrect or unfair, you may appeal by emailing [email protected] within 20 working days of the decision, setting out the grounds for your appeal and including any supporting information. Your appeal will be reviewed impartially by someone not involved in the original decision where practicable, and we will respond with our decision and reasons. We aim to resolve appeals within 20 working days.
An appeal concerns an assessment result or certification decision. If, instead, you wish to complain about the quality or content of a Course, please contact us at [email protected] and we will look into it under our general complaints process.
We want our training to be accessible. If you have a disability or specific need that affects how you take an assessment, contact us before you begin and we will consider what reasonable accommodation we can provide, while maintaining the integrity and standard of the assessment.
We may update Course content and assessments to reflect changes in legislation, guidance or best practice. Where a Course is materially updated, we may require learners to complete updated content or assessment in order to obtain or renew a certificate, so that certificates remain current and meaningful.
We retain assessment and certification records in line with our Privacy Policy and Data Protection (GDPR) Statement. As the issuing body, we keep these records so that we can verify our own certificates and stand behind their integrity, and because they can form part of the evidence in workplace health and safety claims. For these reasons we keep them for an extended period — for the validity period of the certificate and for at least 7 years after it expires (at least 10 years from issue for certificates with no expiry date), and longer where necessary to verify the certificate or for the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal claim. We can produce evidence of training and certification on request, including for verification, legal, insurance or discovery purposes.
We may update this Policy from time to time. Changes take effect when posted and apply to Courses taken after that point.
If you have any questions about assessment or certification, contact us at [email protected].