CHICAGO — The National Restaurant Association (www.restaurant.org) today announced a month-long initiative to encourage restaurant and foodservice operators to participate in the 17th Annual National Food Safety Education Month (NFSEM) this September. The campaign focuses on the importance of food safety education and training, while continuing to raise awareness of the industry's commitment to food safety.
This year's theme, "Lessons Learned from the Health Inspection," is sponsored by SCA, a global hygiene company and makers of the Tork® brand of away-from-home paper products. The National Restaurant Association selected SCA as the sponsor of the campaign due to the company's commitment to food safety education and dedication to hygiene product solutions.
"There is nothing more important than the health and safety of our guests at restaurants around the country, and National Food Safety Education Month highlights our industry's commitment to serving healthful, delicious and safe meals every day," said Dawn Sweeney, President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. "Our industry serves 130 million guests daily, and we know that it's critical to train our employees in safe food handling practices. Through our national campaign, we encourage the nation's nearly one million restaurants to demonstrate their dedication to food safety."
As part of this educational campaign, free weekly training activities, food safety tips and free posters are now available for download at www.ServSafe.com/nfsem. All NFSEM materials are based on the National Restaurant Association's ServSafe® food safety training and certification program. ServSafe is the nation's most widely accepted food protection manager program, with more than 4.6 million certifications awarded to date.
"Hygiene and food safety are key imperatives in our customers' day-to-day business," said Suzanne Cohen, Foodservice Segment Director for SCA Tissue North America. "Partnering with the National Restaurant Association for NFSEM to further educate the industry on these important topics ultimately creates a healthier environment for operators, employees and patrons nationwide."
The curriculum for National Food Safety Education Month is broken down into five weekly sessions, each stressing different food safety basics and how they apply to the health inspection process. The sessions cover:
•How to work with a health inspector
•Handling food
•Cleaning and sanitizing
•Proper food storage techniques
•Handling utensils and equipment
Restaurant and hospitality industry professionals are encouraged to use these materials and participate in this national awareness campaign. The weekly training activities, food safety daily tips and posters can be used to supplement existing in-store food safety training. They communicate food safety concepts efficiently, and the weekly activities can be completed in less than 10 minutes.
The National Restaurant Association also provides a toolkit for restaurant operators to communicate their participation in National Food Safety Education Month to their guests. This toolkit includes the initiative's logo, a news release for restaurants, sample tweets and email templates that promote involvement in the program. All these items are available for download at www.ServSafe.com/NFSEM. Participating restaurants are also encouraged to visit www.talktork.com to receive a consultation from a Tork Solutions Expert, in addition to a free trial of Tork products in honor of NFSEM.
While National Food Safety Education Month is celebrated in September, food safety is a priority year-round. ServSafe offers classroom and online training options in a variety of languages aimed at both managers and employees. The ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification is nationally recognized and accredited. Visit www.ServSafe.com or call (800) ServSafe (800-737-8723) for more information.
For more information about SCA, the Tork brand and its solutions for the foodservice industry, visit www.torkusa.com.
About the National Restaurant Association
Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 960,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of nearly 13 million employees. We represent the industry in Washington, D.C., and advocate on its behalf. We operate the industry's largest trade show (NRA Show May 5-8, 2012, in Chicago); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF's ProStart, including the National ProStart Invitational April 27-29, 2012, in Baltimore, Md.) and college-level management program (ManageFirst); as well as the Kids LiveWell program promoting healthful kids' menu options. For more information, visit www.restaurant.org and find us on Twitter @WeRRestaurants, Facebook and YouTube.
About Tork
The Tork brand offers a complete range of products and services within hygiene and cleaning for professional washrooms, healthcare, food service and industry. Through customer understanding and particular expertise in hygiene and sustainability, Tork has become a market leader in many segments and a committed partner to businesses in over 80 countries. Tork is a global brand in the SCA hygiene portfolio. To keep up with the latest Tork news and innovations, please visit: www.torkusa.com.
About SCA
SCA is a global hygiene and paper company that develops and produces personal-care products, tissue, packaging solutions, publication papers and solid-wood products. Sales are conducted in some 100 countries. SCA has many well-known brands, including the global brands TENA and Tork. Sales in 2010 amounted to $14.5 billion (USD). SCA has about 45,000 employees. For more information about SCA, please visit: www.sca.com
About SCA in North America
SCA's North American tissue division is one of the three largest producers of away-from-home tissue products in North America, supplying paper napkins, tissues, towels, specialty wipers, dispensers and soap used in commercial settings such as restaurants, office buildings, schools and healthcare facilities. Tork® products are made from 100-percent recycled content. SCA recycles more than 750,000 tons of paper a year; on average, more than 60 percent of those tons are post-consumer waste. The first American papermaker to earn EcoLogo™ certification, SCA also has earned Green Seal™ certification on many of its products. The company has more than 2,200 employees in the United States and Canada. More information is available at www.torkusa.com.
Source: National Restaurant Association