SCA Announces Sole Sponsorship of the National Restaurant Association's National Food Safety Month

Month-long promotion to focus on stopping the spread of foodborne illness by focusing on preventing cross-contamination

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Sep 05, 2012, 11:12 ET

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SCA, the makers of the Tork^® brand of away-from-home paper products, today announces it is the sole sponsor of the National Restaurant Association's (NRA) 18^th annual National Food Safety Month, which kicks off Sept. 1. As the leading provider of hygienic dispensing systems and paper goods for the foodservice industry, SCA's Tork products promote best practices in restaurants and other foodservice venues, including campuses, stadiums and healthcare facilities, and at home.

National Food Safety Month was launched in 1994 to heighten awareness about the importance of food safety education. This year, the theme is "Be Safe, Don't Cross-Contaminate" and programming will focus on reducing cross-contamination, which can lead to dangerous germ spread among patrons and employees.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 48 million Americans – approximately one in six – get sick from foodborne illnesses each year. A foodborne illness incident can severely damage the reputation of a restaurant or institution, and that's a key reason why we believe this year's theme of preventing cross-contamination is so important," said Suzanne Cohen, Foodservice Marketing Director for SCA Professional Hygiene.

Tork's sponsorship of National Food Safety Month will help to provide materials and course development for five core educational sessions on preventing cross-contamination. The free programs include:

Week 1: Personal Hygiene Practices That Prevent Cross-Contamination
Week 2: Preventing Cross-Contamination Through Handwashing
Week 3: Cleaning and Sanitizing Practices That Will Prevent Cross-Contamination
Week 4: Preventing Cross-Contamination During Storage, Preparation, and Cooking
Week 5: Preventing Cross-Contact

"Food safety is a priority year-round for the nation's nearly one million restaurant and foodservice outlets and we celebrate that commitment with September's National Food Safety Month," said Paul Hineman, executive vice president of the National Restaurant Association. "Our industry serves 130 million guests daily, making food safety training critical for restaurant employees."

National Food Safety Month highlights components of the NRA's ServSafe® food safety training and certification program. The clearly communicated concepts can be completed in less than 10 minutes.

For more information on National Food Safety Month and the educational materials, please visit FoodSafetyMonth.com. Additional guidance on preventing cross-contamination and good hygiene practices can be found on the Tork Better Business Center.

For further information on Tork, please contact Allison Cory, Burson-Marsteller, at (312) 596-3416 or [email protected]. For information on food safety from the National Restaurant Association, please contact Annika Stensson at (202) 973-3677 or [email protected]

About Tork®

The Tork brand offers professional hygiene products and services to customers ranging from restaurants and healthcare facilities to offices, schools and industries. Products include dispensers, paper towels, toilet tissue, soap, napkins, and industrial and kitchen wipers. Through expertise in hygiene, functional design and sustainability, Tork has become a market leader. Tork is a global brand of SCA, and a committed partner to customers in over 80 countries. To keep up with the latest Tork news and innovations, please visit: torkusa.com or tork.ca.

About SCA

SCA is a global hygiene and forest company that develops and produces personal-care products, tissue, publication papers and solid-wood products. Sales are conducted in some 100 countries. SCA has many well-known brands, including the global brands TENA and Tork. Sales in 2011 amounted to 15 billion dollars. SCA has approximately 37,000 employees. For more information about SCA, please visit: www.sca.com

Sustainability

SCA delivers sustainable solutions with added value for our customers from safe, resource efficient and environmentally sound sourcing, production and development. Recent third party accreditations for the SCA sustainability work include Dow Jones Sustainability Index 2011, the WWF Environmental Paper Company Index 2011, and Ethisphere – World's most ethical companies 2012.

About National Restaurant Association

Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 970,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of nearly 13 million employees. We represent the industry in Washington, D.C., and advocate on its behalf. We operate the industry's largest trade show (NRA Show May 18-21, 2013, in Chicago); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF's ProStart, including the National ProStart Invitational April 19-21, 2013, in Baltimore, Md.); as well as the Kids LiveWell program promoting healthful kids' menu options. For more information, visit www.restaurant.org and find us on Twitter @WeRRestaurants, Facebook and YouTube.