The National Restaurant Association bought a food safety certification body — the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals — earlier this week. The Orlando-based National Registry of Food Safety Professionals (NRFSP) formed 18 years ago to offer training and food safety certification for personnel in the restaurant, hotel and quick service industries. The Washington D.C. based National Restaurant Association (NRA) plans on integrating its ServSafe program, which it calls “the gold standard in food safety training,” with NRFSP’s food safety management certifications. The NRFSP grew out of the 1997 partnership of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and Professional Testing Inc. The NRFSP International Certified Food SafetyManager program is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). It follows standards set by the Conference of Food Protection and all states recognize its examinations. Sherman Brown, senior vice president for business and financial strategy at NRA, said acquisition of NRFSP gives restaurant employees more access to the tools they need to handle food and beverages safely. “When two great brands in this industry join forces with a common mission and shared vision, everyone from our customers to our business owners benefit, “ said Larry Lynch, president of NRFSP. Bringing the food safety programs together will help build “an actionable food safety culture “ throughout the restaurant industry, Lynch added. NRA has issued more than 6 million certifications under its ServSafe program. NRA’s one million restaurants employ an estimated 14 million food service workers. (To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)