National Sanitation Foundation
American standardization organization
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF)[1] is a public health nonprofit organization[2] headquartered in Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan, United States.[3] It tests and certifies foods, water, and consumer products.[2] It also facilitates the development of standards for these products,[2] labeling products it has certified to meet these standards with the NSF mark.[4]
 NSF Certification Mark | |
 NSF International headquarters in Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan | |
| Abbreviation | NSF |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1944 |
| Type | Testing, inspection, certification, training, and consulting |
| Legal status | Not-for-profit |
| Purpose | Improve and protect human health worldwide. |
| Headquarters | Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan, United States |
| Pedro Sancha | |
| Staff | 1,200 (2011) |
| Website | nsf.org |
NSF is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)[citation needed] and the Standards Council of Canada.[5]
History
The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) was founded in 1944 by the University of Michigan School of Public Health, in an attempt to standardize requirements around sanitation and food safety.[2] The first standards developed by the NSF set sanitation requirements on soda fountain and luncheonette equipment.[2][clarification needed]
Certification
The NSF certifies food equipment, including food preparation and dispensing equipment, ice makers, refrigerators and freezers, dishwashing sinks, vending machines, mobile food carts, and service counters.[6] These certifications are widely recognized internationally.[6]
NSF's Food division also certifies the gluten-freeness and other similar characteristics of products, as well as certifying bottled water and packaged ice.[7]
The NSF also certifies dietary supplements through a standard it facilitated the development of adopted by ANSI (NSF/American National Standards Institute Standard 173), testing for safe levels of contaminants and that the ingredients on supplements match their labels.[2] As of 2002[update] it competed in this with the United States Pharmacopeia certification mark.[8]
The NSF also develops standards for and certifies water quality.[9] As of 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets limits on drinking water contaminants based on standards set by the NSF.[10]
The NSF Consumer Products Division tests and certifies consumer products and appliances used in and around the home.[11][12]
Laboratories
NSF maintains laboratories in North America,[13] South America,[14] Europe[13] and China.[13] NSF's laboratories are accredited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.[13] NSF laboratories are ISO 17025 certified (testing and calibration).[13]
The chairman of the Board of Directors, is the retired Chief Operations Officer and Executive Vice President of the McDonald's Corporation.[15] And since March 2022, the President and chief executive officer is Pedro Sancha, formerly of Ecolab and Shell.[16]