Understanding Food Shield Certification Requirements
Ensure your food shields meet industry-accepted guidelines for hygienic design, materials and other construction specifications.
Ready to Begin the Certification Process?
Technically Speaking: What Is a Food Shield?
The standard NSF/ANSI 2: Food Equipment defines a food shield as a barrier between a customer’s mouth and unpackaged food. It is designed and manufactured to assist in protecting the food from customer contamination. NSF/ANSI 2 has three main food shield classifications:
- Self-service food shields: The type usually found at salad bars, buffets and college dining rooms
- Vertical food shields: The kind typically used at quick serve restaurants and fast food chains where food is prepared in front of you
- Food shields for use on cafeteria counters: Most common in school cafeterias and hospitals
Design Requirements
Knowing a food shield’s classification and how it is intended to be installed helps determine the general and specific design requirements that may apply. In addition to food shields used in conjunction with countertop equipment and multiple-tier food shields, NSF/ANSI 2 also outlines requirements for the end shields required on each type of food shield.
How NSF Can Help You
What’s New with NSF
iNADO Partners with NSF to Support Members and Athletes
May 27, 2026iNADO is pleased to welcome NSF’s expertise and experience in support of its members and the athletes they serve
NSF Ends UK’s Three-Year Testing Gap with REG 31 Testing Designation
May 20, 2026NSF’s Oakdale laboratory becomes the UK’s sole facility offering comprehensive BS 6920 and REG 31 testing, closing a critical drinking water safety gap.
Tangent® Materials Announces Industry First: Tangent PolySheet™ CB Earns Certification to NSF 537, Becoming the First PFAS-Free NSF Standard 51 Food Equipment Material
May 20, 2026New food-grade synthetic cutting-board sheet, engineered from the ground up without per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), establishes a new materialsafety benchmark for food-contact and food-equipment applications.
NSF Expands Food Equipment Portfolio with Electrical Safety Testing and Certification
April 30, 2026Manufacturers now have a “one-stop-shop” for both sanitation and electrical safety certification, enabling market expansion and regulatory compliance.