National Restaurant Association and ServSafe Launch 2026 National Food Safety Month Campaign

Five weeks of practical resources help restaurant teams turn proven food safety practices into consistent, everyday habits

CHICAGO, Sept. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Food safety is an everyday commitment in restaurants, and throughout September, the National Restaurant Association and ServSafe® are recognizing National Food Safety Month by providing operators and their teams with practical resources to reinforce that commitment across their operations.

The 2026 campaign, "Recipe for Food Safety Success," offers five weeks of "Food Safety Bundles" focused on the fundamental practices that support a strong food safety program. Each bundle includes recipe card checklists, shift meeting briefs, quizzes and posters designed to strengthen employee knowledge, reinforce expectations and make proven food safety practices part of every shift.

"A strong food safety culture is built through education, reinforced expectations, and proven practices applied every day," said Sherman Brown, executive vice president of Business Services for the National Restaurant Association. "National Food Safety Month is a priority for ServSafe. It gives us an opportunity to provide operators with practical resources that engage their teams, strengthen their knowledge, and reinforce the habits that help protect employees and guests."

Each week of the campaign will focus on a core ingredient of food safety success:

• Week 1: Building a strong food safety culture. Assess current practices, reinforce expectations during pre-shift meetings, recognize safe behaviors and empower employees to identify potential risks.
• Week 2: Cleaning and sanitizing with confidence. Evaluate procedures, review sanitizer concentrations, verify cleaning schedules and clarify the difference between cleaning and sanitizing.
• Week 3: Preventing cross-contamination. Review storage and color-coding systems, reinforce proper handling of raw and ready-to-eat foods and identify risks throughout the operation.
• Week 4: Reinforcing good personal hygiene practices. Review handwashing procedures, illness-reporting policies and glove-use requirements, and incorporate reminders into shift meetings.
• Week 5: Mastering time and temperature control. Verify thermometer calibration, ensure temperature logs are accurate and reinforce critical temperature requirements.

National Food Safety Month, held annually in September, was created in 1994 by the National Restaurant Association to heighten awareness about the importance of food safety education.

Operators and restaurant workforce can download the free resources on the ServSafe National Food Safety Month website.

About the National Restaurant Association

Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises more than 1 million restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of 15.7 million employees. Together with 52 State Associations, we are a network of professional organizations dedicated to serving every restaurant through advocacy, education, and food safety. We sponsor the industry's largest trade show (National Restaurant Association Show); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF's ProStart). For more information, visit Restaurant.org and find @WeRRestaurants on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

SOURCE National Restaurant Association