New tiered services empower restaurants and food retailers to strengthen hygiene, compliance and customer trust

BANGKOK, Jan. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- NSF, a leading global public health and safety organization, today announced the launch of its Retail Food Safety Audits program throughout the ASEAN region and Australia. The program introduces three services: NSF Food Safety Essentials, NSF Food Safety Plus and NSF Food Safety Advanced — designed to help food businesses of all sizes elevate food safety performance, reduce operational risks and build consumer confidence.

"The rapid economic growth and advancing urbanization in the ASEAN region have fueled significant expansion in the food industry. In Australia, the sector continues to demonstrate steady growth driven by strong consumer spending habits. By introducing these services in the ASEAN and Australian markets, we're demonstrating our commitment to supporting food businesses with effective and scalable solutions that address regional compliance challenges," said Sutida Ketudut, Managing Director of APAC at NSF. "From small restaurants to multinational chains, our programs provide the tools and expertise needed to raise food safety standards, reduce risk and build lasting consumer confidence."

The program provides a clear, practical framework for the food service, hospitality and retail food sectors, addressing challenges from day-to-day food operations to complex supply chains. Each audit program is designed to meet the unique needs of businesses at different stages of growth:

NSF Food Safety Essentials: This foundational program evaluates four core areas: food safety, cleanliness, repair and maintenance, and brand standards—providing small to medium-sized food retailers and restaurants with actionable insights, a detailed audit report and the optional NSF Food Safety Essentials badge for display.

NSF Food Safety Plus: Designed for growing brands, this service incorporates regular audits using the NSF Food Safety Checklist and provides additional valuable insights through NSF Connect, a cloud-based audit platform. It helps businesses drive consistent standards across multiple sites, benchmark their performance and manage corrective actions.

NSF Food Safety Advanced: Created for large, multinational brands and master franchisees, this service delivers customized, globally consistent and data-driven audits that integrate expert insights from NSF with local regulatory knowledge, enabling businesses to proactively manage risks, manage compliance, and strengthen customer trust.

Businesses that successfully meet audit requirements can opt in to display the relevant NSF Food Safety badge, signaling their commitment to safety and quality. Customers can scan the badge's QR code to learn more about the program and the standards achieved.

With the introduction of these new services, NSF aims to help empower ASEAN and Australian food businesses implement best practices, strengthen compliance and enhance customer trust across diverse markets.

Learn more about the NSF Retail Food Safety Audits Program.

About NSF

NSF is an independent, global services organization dedicated to improving human health for more than 80 years by developing public health standards and providing world-class testing, inspection, certification, advisory services and digital solutions to the food, water and wellness products industries. NSF has 40,000 clients in 110 countries and is a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center on Food Safety, Water Quality and Medical Device Safety.