The National Restaurant Association said it plans to launch a nationwide safety and marketing campaign later this summer to reassure consumers that they’re being protected from coronavirus while dining at participating restaurants.
Restaurants that meet the safety standards of the ServSafe Dining Commitment will be provided with a certificate to post on their storefronts to alert the public that the establishment is following the program’s protective protocols. The program builds on ServSafe, the food-safety program administered by the association to protect against foodborne illness.
To be certified under the ServSafe Dining Commitment, restaurants will need to:
--Follow the association’s Reopening Guidance protocols and any standards that were set by the brand’s franchisor or owner;
--Follow all COVID-related laws and standards set by their local and state governments;
--Have at least one staff member per location who has earned ServSafe Food Protection Manager certification, a ServSafe variation for supervisors;
--Have 75% of their staff certified under both the ServeSafe Food Handler program, the curriculum for line-level employees, and the ServSafe COVID-19 Reopening course, a variation added by the association specifically to help dining establishments safely reopen their dining rooms.
The association did not say how much the certification will cost participating operators.
“We created the ServSafe Dining Commitment for operators to reassure customers that they are taking defined steps to keep diners and the restaurant’s employees safe,” Sherman Brown, EVP of training and certification for the association, said in a statement. “We encourage operators, and the entire restaurant and foodservice community to join us in welcoming diners back to their dining rooms with the peace of mind that their restaurant adheres to the ServSafe Dining Commitment.”
A program with a similar aim of reassurance was launched last week by the group’s Texas affiliate, the Texas Restaurant Association.
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