A question I get asked often is about certifications needed for food preparation equipment. Here's the answer, and a list of requirements.

People opening their first kitchen ask me about this regularly. It usually surfaces on a permit application, where a line says the equipment has to be "certified."

Without an explanation of what that means or what counts as certified, they're left wondering whether the used prep table they scored off Facebook Marketplace is about to sink the whole inspection.

All food preparation equipment in commercial kitchens must be certified by accredited bodies like NSF International or ANSI (the most common safety standard for commercial food equipment). Certification means the equipment meets certain criteria, like what the equipment is made of, how it's built, and how easy it is to keep clean.

Health inspectors have leaned on these standards for decades, but there isn't a federal law that says your prep table has to carry an NSF mark. It's actually your state and local health code that adopts NSF/ANSI (or an accredited equivalent like UL EPH or ETL Sanitation). So whether it's required comes down to your state and locality. 

The NSF/ANSI standard number depends on the type of equipment, so here's what to look for: 

• Prep gear like tables, counters, sinks, hoods, and shelving is NSF/ANSI 2.
• Anything that cooks or keeps food hot, so ranges, ovens, fryers, griddles, and broilers, is NSF/ANSI 4.
• Fridges and freezers, whether it's a small reach-in or a full walk-in, are NSF/ANSI 7.
• Powered gear like slicers and mixers is NSF/ANSI 8.

New gear from a restaurant supplier usually carries the mark already. Used gear is where you want to check before counting on it. 

Certification is one of those setup items that sits alongside permits, licensing, and insurance, all boxes you need to tick before you open. Once you've got all the gear, property coverage is one way to protect it if something like a fire or an overnight fridge failure takes it out.

There's more on that over on the ERGO NEXT restaurant insurance page.

If you've already been through your first inspection, I'd love to hear how the equipment side went, what you wish you'd known going in, or anything that caught you sideways.