NEW SERVICE SPOTLIGHT: StaySafer Program by NSF International

NSF International, a global public health organization located in Ann Arbor, MI, has launched a new program to help hotels, resorts, and other hospitality settings prevent food and water contamination in their facilities. The NSF International StaySaferâ„¢ program provides hospitality industry professionals with a credible means to demonstrate the safety of its food and water to guests, agencies, and hotel rating websites.new service spotlight The NSF StaySafer program combines inspection and testing for both a hotel or resort’s water systems and food service operations.

The new program includes:
1) A review of the establishment’s written policies and procedures for both its food service operations and water systems, including food safety practices and training policies, water source and treatment systems, hotel schematics, and plumbing blueprints.

2) An on-site facility inspection, which includes:

  • An evaluation of the water distribution and treatment systems against NSF’s draft standard 432: Water Safety Standard for the Global Hotel Industry. This inspection verifies the safety of the design and maintenance of the hotel or resort’s water and ice systems. Water and ice samples are collected from various locations within the hospitality establishment and tested for chemical and microbial contaminants.
  • An evaluation of foodservice operations against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Code is conducted to verify that proper food safety systems and personnel training are in place to reduce the risk of food borne contaminants.

3) Annual facility audits and testing to ensure ongoing compliance to the program. This includes regularly scheduled testing and evaluation for microbiological and chemical contamination of drinking water and ice.

Once a facility has demonstrated its compliance with the auditing and testing requirements of the program, NSF StaySafer certification is granted. The program also provides facilities access to customized NSF International inspections that would cover other aspects of the hotel operations, such as room cleanliness, workout facilities, bottled water certification, food supplier approval, and food equipment certification. These other inspections can be bundled with the NSF StaySafer inspections to provide additional cost savings to certified establishments.

Certified facilities will be listed in NSF’s online listings database and earn the use of the NSF StaySafer mark on marketing materials and their websites.