National Food Safety Month Marks 20 Years of Promoting Food Safety Best Practices

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of its strong commitment to food safety, the National Restaurant Association today announced this year's National Food Safety Month (NFSM), held annually in September, will mark its 20-year anniversary by featuring the top 20 food safety tips from the past 20 years.

NFSM was created in 1994 to heighten awareness about the importance of food safety education. NFSM offers free resources for foodservice industry professionals at FoodSafetyMonth.com and will highlight tips for a number of food safety topics including cleaning and sanitizing, cross-contamination, time-temperature control, personal hygiene and allergens.

"In honor of National Food Safety Month celebrating its 20-year anniversary, we are pleased to share the top tips from the past 20 years covering a variety of vital food safety information," said Dawn Sweeney, President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. "Our industry serves 130 million meals daily making food safety a top priority year-round for the country's nearly one million restaurant and foodservice establishments."

For the fourth consecutive year, NFSM is sponsored by SCA, maker of the Tork^® brand of Away-from-Home professional hygiene products in North America. SCA's Tork^® brand is committed to food safety education and hygiene product solutions.

"SCA's Tork brand is proud to continue our sponsorship of National Food Safety Month, particularly as this important initiative marks its 20-year anniversary," said Suzanne Cohen, Marketing Director Foodservice SCA Americas. "We work diligently to promote best practices in restaurants and foodservice venues, helping our customers to understand the essential role that hygiene plays in food safety and healthy environments for our industry's employees and patrons."

The association also announces Anheuser-Busch as a first-time sponsor of this year's NFSM. Anheuser-Busch is the brewer of Budweiser, Bud Light, and Stella Artois. NFSM also marks the beginning of a new partnership between the National Restaurant Association and Anheuser-Busch. This partnership will continue into next year and will focus on the importance of responsible alcohol service education, while raising awareness of the industry's commitment to both food and alcohol safety.

"We are proud to be a sponsor of this year's 20-year anniversary of National Food Safety Month and are excited to kick-off this new partnership," said Josh Halpern, VP of On-Premise Sales for Anheuser-Busch. "For more than three decades, Anheuser-Busch has been committed to promoting alcohol responsibility and this partnership is an example of our ongoing efforts."

About National Food Safety Month
The National Restaurant Association's National Food Safety Month was created in 1994 to heighten awareness about the importance of food safety education. Each year, a new theme and free training activities and posters are created for the restaurant and foodservice industry to help reinforce proper food safety practices and procedures. The training materials are based on the association's ServSafe food safety training and certification program, which is the industry's gold standard for such programs. For more information, visit FoodSafetyMonth.com.

About Tork^®
The Tork brand offers professional hygiene products and services to customers ranging from restaurants and healthcare facilities to offices, schools and industries. Products include dispensers, paper towels, toilet tissue, soap, napkins, and industrial and kitchen wipers. Through expertise in hygiene, functional design and sustainability, Tork has become a market leader. Tork is a global brand of SCA, and a committed partner to customers in over 80 countries. To keep up with the latest Tork news and innovations, please visit: torkusa.com or tork.ca. 

About SCA
In North America, SCA produces the Tork^® line of dispensers, towels, tissue, soap, napkins and wipers used in commercial settings such as office buildings, restaurants, schools and healthcare facilities and the TENA^® line of incontinence care products used by consumers at home and in healthcare facilities. TENA and Tork are the global leading brands in their categories. For more information visit www.sca.com/us. 

About Anheuser-Busch
For more than 160 years, Anheuser-Busch and its world-class brewmasters have carried on a legacy of brewing America's most-popular beers. Starting with the finest, all-natural ingredients sourced from Anheuser-Busch's family of growers, every batch is crafted using the same exacting standards and time-honored traditions passed down through generations of proud Anheuser-Busch brewmasters and employees. Best known for its fine American-style lagers, Budweiser and Bud Light, the company's beers lead numerous beer segments and combined hold 47.2 percent share of the U.S. beer market. Anheuser-Busch is the U.S. arm of Anheuser-Busch InBev and operates 12 local breweries, 17 distributorships and 23 agricultural and packaging facilities across the United States, representing a capital investment of more than $15.5 billion. Its flagship brewery remains in St. Louis, Mo., and is among the global company's largest and most technologically capable breweries. Visitor and special beermaster tours are available at its St. Louis and four other Anheuser-Busch breweries. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.

Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 990,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of more than 13.5 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 16-19, 2015, in Chicago); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF's ProStart); as well as the Kids LiveWell program promoting healthful kids' menu options. For more information, visit Restaurant.org and find us on Twitter @WeRRestaurants, Facebook and YouTube.

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SOURCE National Restaurant Association