National Food Safety Month 2025
Every September, ServSafe empowers foodservice professionals to prevent safety violations with training and resources. This year, we’re taking a fresh approach to cracking down on some of the industry’s most pervasive food safety risks. All month long, ServSafe is sharing informational and actionable tools designed to defend your kitchens from major food safety offenders.
Week 5: Case Closed – Wrapping Up NSFM 2025
Our case on Food Safety’s Most Wanted may be ready to shut, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still out there! Review all of this month’s most important takeaways at once to ensure you’ll be ready when one of food safety’s top offenders comes knocking.
Read the week 5 blog.
IDENTIFICATION
eBook: Stay Inspection-Ready by Cultivating a Culture of Food Safety
Keep Food Safety’s Most Wanted at bay while staying ready for inspections at any time with our guide to creating a larger culture of food safety.
Download
Week 4: Danger Zone Duke – Improper Temperature Control
This week, Danger Zone Duke, known for improper temperature control, turned up the heat–and left your walk-in door wide open! This outlaw loves food that isn’t hot enough, cold enough, or cooled fast enough.
IDENTIFICATION
eBook: Managing Time and Temperature for Safer Food
Discover what “The Danger Zone” looks like for different foods you might encounter on the job and learn how to keep them out of it.
Download
PREVENTION
Food Temperature Safety Chart
Cook and store foods at the correct temperatures with the help of this comprehensive chart, which lists minimum internal cooking temps and timings for key ingredients.
Learn More
PREVENTION
Food Cooking Policy: Time and Temperature
Establish clear expectations and keep all employees on the same page when cooking and storing foods with a well-defined policy. Use it to train staff and maintain compliance.
Explore
SHIFT BRIEF
Shift Meeting Brief: Improper Temperature Control
Reinforce temperature control best practices with a shift meeting brief template designed to start conversations and build a culture of food safety.
Download
Week 3: Germ Wrangler Jessie – Poor Personal Hygiene
Germ Wrangler Jessie may look harmless at a glance, but her violation of poor personal hygiene is anything but. Her record of poor handwashing, illness protocol violations, and improper glove usage has earned her a high spot on our list. This week, we zero in on how to help Germ Wrangler Jessie clean up her act.
IDENTIFICATION
eBook: Poor Personal Hygiene and Food Safety
Get to know the link between personal hygiene and food safety and discover why there’s nothing personal about maintaining proper hygiene standards.
Download
PREVENTION
Poster: Personal Hygiene Do’s & Don’ts
Use this poster to establish clear visual cues for personal hygiene expectations that both foodservice handlers and managers can refer to.
Explore
PREVENTION
Poster: How to Wash Your Hands, and Why
Handwashing alone isn’t enough–proper technique is essential. Zoom in on why each stage of proper handwashing is so important with this visual guide.
Learn More
SHIFT BRIEF
Shift Meeting Brief: Poor Personal Hygiene
Keep personal hygiene expectations at the top of your staff’s mind with a shift meeting brief template made to simplify compliance.
Download
Week 2: Mix-Up Menace Max – Contamination & Cross-Contamination
The trail gets messy–literally–as we zoom in on Mix-Up Menace Max, the offender responsible for contamination and cross-contamination risks in the kitchen. Mix-Up Menace Max doesn’t only thrive on confusion about how to spot and eliminate contaminants; he’s also notorious for spreading harmful pathogens that make guests sick.
IDENTIFICATION
eBook: The Science of Foodborne Illnesses and Outbreaks
Learn how contamination and cross-contamination cause foodborne illnesses and identify which pathogens are most likely to strike in your kitchens.
Download
IDENTIFICATION
eBook: Behind the Scenes of Managing an Outbreak
Get the inside scoop on what’s at stake when contamination risks turn into full-blown foodborne illness outbreaks.
Download
PREVENTION
The 3-Legged Approach to Preventing Foodborne Illnesses
Keep Mix-Up Menace Max from causing any more foodborne illness outbreaks by learning to uphold the three pillars of restaurant food safety.
Explore
SHIFT BRIEF
Shift Meeting Brief: Contamination and Cross-Contamination
Equip your employees with the knowledge they need to prevent contamination and cross-contamination with a shift meeting brief focused on stopping the spread.
Download
Week 1: Greasy Spoon Slim – Inadequate Cleaning & Sanitizing
When grimy surfaces, gunked-up equipment, and germy washcloths are afoot, there’s only one culprit to blame: Greasy Spoon Slim, whose offense is inadequate cleaning and sanitizing. That’s right – a single greasy spoon may be all it takes to cause food safety risks.
IDENTIFICATION
eBook: The Hidden Risk: What Inadequate Cleaning & Sanitizing Could Cost Your Restaurant
Learn how seemingly minor cleaning and sanitizing errors add up fast to major safety consequences for your staff, guests, and operation.
Download
PREVENTION
Poster Pack: Preventing Food Safety Violations
The best way to combat Greasy Spoon Slim? Prevent him from setting up shop. Make proper cleaning and sanitizing a habit, not a chore, by displaying posters like these at key points throughout your operation.
Explore
PREVENTION
Quiz: Preventing Food Safety Risks Through Proper Cleaning Practices
Do you know how to spot Greasy Spoon Slim’s calling cards before they cause problems? Check yourself and your teams with this short quiz.
Discover
SHIFT BRIEF
Shift Meeting Brief: Inadequate Cleaning and Sanitization
Keep conversations around proper cleaning and sanitization going with our tailored shift meeting brief template, complete with prompts and tips to keep things squeaky clean.
Download
Week 0: Introducing Food Safety’s Most Wanted – NSFM 2025
Say howdy to this year’s theme:
Food Safety’s Most Wanted, a round-up of the top four major violations behind countless failed inspections and foodborne illness outbreaks. Each week, we’re identifying one of the top culprits and helping you learn how to get ahead of their tricks and tactics.
Check out the blog to get a full overview of what’s to come:
Read the week 0 blog.
Exclusive National Food Safety Month Offer:
Bonus Tools and Training Support
To help operators save on safety this month, we’re offering
20% off on select ServSafe products, including our ServSafe
Manager, ServSafe Food Handler and ServSafe Allergens
courses, all month long!
Restrictions apply.
Brought to You by Our Sponsors
National Food Safety Month is made possible through the support of our sponsor, who share our commitment to accessible food safety education across all segments of foodservice. Their support allows us to provide these tools at no cost to operators.
MORE CONTENT FOR YOU
Download Everything
Don't want to wait until the end of the month? Download every checklist, ebook, and poster right now!
DOWNLOAD ALL CONTENT
Revisit 2024
Review all of the cleaning and sanitizing assets from last year.
VIEW 2024 CONTENT
Explore Tools & Research
Food Safety Focus has a variety of white papers, posters, infographics, and other resources to help build your culture of food safety.
EXPLORE TOOLS & RESEARCH