If you have been involved with the food service industry for a while you have probably noticed the three letters NSF on restaurant equipment and small wares. Well, those three letters are really important and it tells your health inspector that you have the correct equipment. Let me give you a little history on NSF and why you should double-check your equipment and small wares to make sure you are compliant. NSF stands for National Sanitation Foundation. The NSF was founded in 1944 by the University of Michigan's school of Public Health. The goal of the NSF was to standardize sanitation and food service requirements. It is an independent certifying agency. The components for their certifying process include:

• Setting standards for products
• Testing products
• Authorizing use of a symbol (the official NSF seal with the three letters "NSF" in a circle) to display compliance with the standards.

If a product meets NSF certification criteria it is called an "NSF-certified" or "NSF-listed" product. NSF does not rank products against each other. There is a set of standards and evaluation whether a given product measures up to these standards. So what are some examples of the set of standards that the NSF tests for? Here is a small list of some examples:

• Ease of cleaning is part of the design and construction of a product
• The materials used are non-toxic, durable and resistant to corrosion
• The units (refrigerators/freezers) can keep cold food cold (even in a hot kitchen).
• The manufacturers' instructions for cleaning and sanitizing the equipment are effective on the equipment
• Thermometers or temperature-sensing devices are accurate, meeting defined standards

Next let's compare one set of products to see which product is NSF and which one is not and why. Look at the picture below.

We have two turners. The turner to the left has a wood handle and the turner to the right has a poly handle. The turner to the left would not be NSF approved because the wood handle is susceptible to bacteria growth. Also the wood handle could warp and potentially break off the turner and contaminate other food products. Every product or equipment that is NSF approved will have the NSF seal on the actual product or sometimes the packaging.

If you have any questions about NSF and certain products let our team at Rapids know.