What is the NSF Certification? Does it matter?
If you are going to open a commercial food-service business, prepare to be scrutinized by your local Department of Public Health, who will likely inspect your equipment before issuing the required permits to open. Therefore, you will likely need equipment that has been "NSF Certified".
NSF stands for the National Sanitation Foundation. It was founded in 1944 to create and enforce standards having to do with safety and sanitation. The main reason NSF certification is so valued by restaurants and coffee shops is that it essentially guarantees your equipment will meet health department rules in the US and Canada.
Products that earn NSF certification are said to be "NSF Certified" or "NSF listed" and display the applicable NSF certification mark to show that they have been tested by one of today's most respected independent product testing organizations.
Is NSF certification important?
NSF requires annual inspections and annual testing of municipal products certified to NSF/ANSI 61. To maintain certification, manufacturers cannot change suppliers or formulations without evaluation and approval from NSF. That is important in the deep and transitory supply chains that exist today.
Want to know if a commercial equipment brand is NSF certified? Search here.
