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What do those Certifications Mean?

Certifications Defined

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What do those certifications mean?

You’ve probably seen the NSF and UL labels while shopping for restaurant equipment (and many other products) before. And you probably already have an idea that they represent information about sanitation and safety. But many people, especially those who are new to the industry, may not realize the importance of these small icons on a product. Armed with knowledge about the meanings of these symbols, business owners can make an educated decision about products that will greatly impact their business.

 

NSF Certification  | 

NSF International (formerly known as the National Sanitation Foundation) is an independent organization that certifies foodservice equipment and ensures it is designed and constructed in a way that promotes food safety. NSF-approved equipment is designed to follow health department rules and helps operators improve inspection scoring.

NSF Food Equipment Certification is a product level certification that addresses the acceptable sanitation requirements for equipment and materials intended for commercial foodservice. NSF Certification is not a one-time activity. The certification programs require regular on-site inspections of the manufacturing facilities and periodic re-testing, as required by policies. Learn more.
 

NSF Certified Rethermalizer | 

This is an additional level of testing done by NSF that is indicated on our product descriptions with our own icon. It applies to our food warmers that pass the NSF test for rethermalization, which is to ensure food is quickly heated to a safe temperature before bacteria has an opportunity to grow. If you're wondering about the symbol itself, it was home grown by our marketing department; there is no "official icon" set by NSF. Learn more.

 

cULus Listed Certification |

The UL Listing mark is one of the most common UL marks. If a product carries this mark, it means UL found that representative product samples met UL's safety requirements. These requirements are primarily based on UL's own published standards for safety. This type of mark is seen commonly on appliances and computer equipment, furnaces and heaters, fuses, electrical panel boards, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, fire extinguishers and sprinkler systems, personal flotation devices, bullet resistant glass, and thousands of other products.

There are three variations of UL's Listing mark: one used only in the United States, one used only in Canada and one for both the United States and Canada. The C-UL mark is applied to products for the Canadian market. The products with this type of mark have been evaluated to Canadian safety requirements, which may be somewhat different from U.S. safety requirements. The optional C-UL-US mark indicates compliance with both Canadian and U.S. requirements. UL encourages those manufacturers with products certified for both countries to use this combined mark, but they may continue using separate UL marks for the United States and Canada.

 

CE Certification |

The CE symbol placed on a product means that the manufacturer or person placing the product on the market or putting it into service claims that the unit meets all essential requirements of the relevant European Directive within the European Economic Area.