Articles
September 29, 2026
National Food Safety Month, week 5: Proper time and temperature controls
This week’s food-safety bundle offers ways to ensure employees prevent the growth of harmful bacteria in food.
Everything from storing food at safe temperatures to cooking, cooling, reheating, and holding them correctly, is critical to keeping your customers safe.
In food safety, timing is everything.
During week 5 of National Food Safety Month, the National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe team of experts is focusing on how restaurant employees can practice proper time and temperature controls, one of the most important ingredients in preventing the growth of harmful bacteria.
The initiative, this year entitled “A Recipe for Food Safety Success,” is designed to help strengthen food safety best practices and instill a strong food safety culture at restaurant and foodservice operations nationwide.
Each step, from storing food at safe temperatures to cooking, cooling, reheating, and holding them correctly, plays a critical role in keeping your customers safe. Downloading week five’s food-safety bundle of practical tools and resources will help your team stay out of the temperature danger zone and make safe food handling a part of every shift.
Week 5, the last week of this year’s initiative, explains how to ensure your employees regularly practice the correct, proper time and temperature controls.
The Association originally launched National Food Safety Month in 1994 to raise awareness of food safety education and training across the restaurant industry. Every September since then, it showcases a new theme and related ServSafe resources.
Download week 5’s food-safety bundle of posters on implementing proper time and temperature control techniques at your restaurant or foodservice operation.
Explore the latest food-safety bundle on our National Food Safety Month page
During week 5 of National Food Safety Month, the National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe team of experts is focusing on how restaurant employees can practice proper time and temperature controls, one of the most important ingredients in preventing the growth of harmful bacteria.
The initiative, this year entitled “A Recipe for Food Safety Success,” is designed to help strengthen food safety best practices and instill a strong food safety culture at restaurant and foodservice operations nationwide.
Each step, from storing food at safe temperatures to cooking, cooling, reheating, and holding them correctly, plays a critical role in keeping your customers safe. Downloading week five’s food-safety bundle of practical tools and resources will help your team stay out of the temperature danger zone and make safe food handling a part of every shift.
Week 5, the last week of this year’s initiative, explains how to ensure your employees regularly practice the correct, proper time and temperature controls.
The Association originally launched National Food Safety Month in 1994 to raise awareness of food safety education and training across the restaurant industry. Every September since then, it showcases a new theme and related ServSafe resources.
Download week 5’s food-safety bundle of posters on implementing proper time and temperature control techniques at your restaurant or foodservice operation.
Explore the latest food-safety bundle on our National Food Safety Month page
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