Janet Thomas earned her Master's degree at Eastern Illinois University in Home Economics and has been teaching food safety courses for the past twenty-two years.  As president of Safe Food Handlers, she has taken the company from offering classes in a couple of cities to offering over 1,200 classes a year, across the entire United States.
 

The first major expansion started in 1990 when she incorporated and started her own food safety training company and began offering classes throughout Illinois.  Class materials have since evolved from class handouts into a Comprehensive Food Service Training manual which is currently in its thirteenth edition and is widely accepted by many State, County and local health departments.
 

In 1997, the base company in Illinois was sold and incorporated into another called Safe Food Handlers.  Classes were offered in the State of Missouri and Arizona.  In 2000, California, Florida and Kansas were added.  In 2002, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky were added with plans to add another two states in 2004.
 

Today, the Safe Food Handlers staff consists of over 100 food safety instructors from backgrounds in Dietetics, Food and Nutrition, Family and Consumer Science, Dietary Management, and food service management.  The company now offers classes nationwide and has taught over 20,000 food service professionals in over 10,000 businesses and continues to grow each year.  Students completing the Safe Food Handlers course have achieved a passing rate of 96%, with an average score of 88%.