In celebration of National Food Safety Month (NFSM), the National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe is providing free training and education content between August 21 and October 2, 2023 to help the restaurant workforce understand the “why” behind common food safety practices. Resources include e-books, checklists, posters, and infographics that are digestible, sharable, and easy to put into practice.

Topics that are the focus of ServeSafe’s free NFSM offerings include:

• Time and temperature: Why different foods have different cooking temperatures and how to track and maintain the information   
• Personal hygiene: Why handwashing, cleanliness, fresh clothing, and hair covering, and other sanitary habits help cut down on the risk of cross-contamination
• Health inspections: What and why health inspectors focus on during a restaurant visit, including an inspection readiness checklist
• The latest food safety regulations: Understanding the latest changes to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Food Code and how local municipalities may implementing the changes
• Building a culture of food safety: How all of the resources presented during NFSEM can be used to tie together all food safety best practices, and how to engage and remind teams of why their operation should be committed to food safety every day.

NFSM, recognized each September, was created in 1994 by the National Restaurant Association to heighten awareness about the importance of food safety education. To join the conversation during NFSM, the hashtag #NFSM2023 can be used on social media.