The Jessamine County Health Department is excited to participate in celebrating National Food Safety Month (NFSM) in the month of September. Food safety, as a focal point within the restaurant industry, is now synonymous with an operation’s reputation. Celebrate with us as we explore how to create a culture of food safety within our county’s restaurants.

National Food Safety Month was created in 1994 to heighten the awareness of food safety education. Each year, a new theme is featured to help reinforce proper food safety practices and procedures. Weekly activities are provided throughout September which include information and articles related to best practices for receiving food from suppliers, consumers responding to new trends and technologies and employees and their role in ensuring food safety.

As a reminder, the JCHD Environmental Health Team performs unannounced routine inspections on all county food service establishments including restaurants, grocery stores, schools, bed and breakfast facilities, fairs and festivals to make sure they are following safe food handling procedures. To view an updated list of the latest restaurant health inspection reports, please visit www.jessameinhealth.org or you may view a restaurant’s health inspection report onsite, which is clearly visible upon entry into the establishment.

A complete list of resources is available at www.servsafe.com.

This column was submitted by Lisa Bolton of the Jessamine County Health Department.