Participate in NSF Standards Development

NSF is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop American National Standards. ANSI's accreditation verifies that NSF/ANSI standards are developed through the involvement of stakeholders who are directly affected by the scope of the standard. To participate in creating or revising a standard, you can:

• Submit public review, comments or an issue document suggesting revisions
• Attend a joint committee or task group meeting as an observer
• Join an NSF task group that provides recommendations to the responsible joint committee on a specific issue
• Join an NSF joint committee, the consensus body responsible for the development and revision of NSF/ANSI standards

NSF is looking for stakeholders to participate in the standards development process.

Participating in the standards process or becoming an NSF Joint Committee member are important ways to ensure standards reflect the needs of all stakeholders and the public.

How to Participate in Developing or Revising an NSF Standard

ANSI requires accredited standard developers to provide public notification of every standards project, and publishes this information in Standards Action under Project Initiation Notification System (PINS). By monitoring PINS, which includes project scopes and contact information, you can track standards under development or revision.

You can participate in creating or revising a standard in many ways:

• Joining a joint committee, the consensus body responsible for development and revision of NSF/ANSI standards
• Joining a task group that provides recommendations to the responsible joint committee on a specific issue
• Attending joint committee or task group meetings as an observer
• Submitting public review and comments through ANSI
• Submitting an issue document to suggest revision to an NSF/ANSI standard

ANSI requires a public review period for all proposed standards in Standards Action. Drafts are announced under Call for Comments and revisions under Final Actions.

What Is an NSF Joint Committee?

NSF joint committees, consisting of public health, industry and user members, are consensus bodies responsible for:

• Proposing NSF standards consistent with NSF's mission
• Voting on approval of proposed NSF standards
• Ensuring standards properly address public health, safety, and environmental issues
• Responding to requests for interpretations of NSF standards

A unique feature of the NSF process is the review of all standards by the NSF Council of Public Health Consultants.

What Is the NSF Council of Public Health Consultants?

The Council of Public Health Consultants is composed of representatives of professional organizations, federal and state regulatory agencies, and academic institutions, as well as nationally or internationally recognized individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the public health and environmental fields. The council provides advice to NSF by:

• Developing standards to serve the protection of public health
• Reviewing and balloting all new standards and revisions of existing standards
• Chairing specific joint committees to provide a liaison between the council and joint committees