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Annual Awards Program Now in its Third Year

Ann Arbor, MI - NSF International, The Public Health and Safety Company, announced the first call for nominations for its 2006 Food Safety Leadership Awards (FSLA) Program. This annual awards program, designed for the foodservice industry, recognizes groundbreaking achievements in food safety to help protect the public from foodborne illness.

Foodborne illnesses cause 76 million people to get sick, more than 300,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NSF established the Food Safety Leadership Awards Program to highlight unique contributions that counter foodborne illness.

Foodservice operators, manufacturers, researchers and members of academia may be nominated. The nominations are divided into six categories: technology breakthroughs, research advances, equipment design, product development, packaging innovation, and systems improvements. Nominations for a special lifetime achievement award are also being accepted. Nominations will be accepted through Tuesday, February 28, 2006.

The award winners will be announced at the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, which will take place on Saturday, May 20, 2006 in Chicago, Illinois at McCormick Place Convention Center.

Award recipients will be judged by an independent expert selection committee, representing academia, government agencies and key industry leaders. NSF staff will review and organize nominations for each award category, and then distribute this information to each selection committee member for further evaluation. The following organizations will be represented on the selection committee:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  
• National Food Safety & Toxicology Center at Michigan State University
  
• Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN)
  
• National Restaurant Association Education Foundation (NRAEF)
  
• Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Foodservice Division
  
• International Association for Food Protection (IAFP)
  
• NSF International Council of Public Health Consultants
  
• Association of Food & Drug Officials (AFDO)
  
• International Food Safety Council (IFSC)

"This is our third year honoring outstanding achievements among those exceptional individuals within the foodservice industry," said NSF Corporate Vice President William Fisher. "The Food Safety Leadership Awards Program has been a tremendous success, and we know that next year's winners will join a prominent group of leading food safety professionals, who share in NSF's commitment to protecting the consuming public."

SOURCE: NSF International