The North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers has made equipment connectivity easier than ever with the introduction of its NAFEM Data Protocol Version 3.0. The new version identifies the basic data structure and leaves data definition in the manufacturer’s hands. Application notes include suggestions for implementation and data transfer, and provide implementation and data…

Not even trace amounts of trans fat will be allowed in restaurant food served in Chelsea, Mass. The city just next door to Boston voted July 16 to enact the harshest trans fat ban in the country; while other cities that have established similar bans have allowed for trace amounts of artificial trans fat in…

Some like to think that everything is bigger in Texas. In the state capital, at least, the rebates for water savings are pretty considerable—up to $100,000 for foodservice equipment and process upgrades that produce water savings of at least 100 gals. per day. Austin Water offers rebates to customers who replace existing foodservice equipment, including…

The Association of Nutrition & Foodservice Professionals is among the organizations and healthcare groups supporting the Safe Food for Seniors Act of 2013 (H.R. 2181), introduced in Congress in May. The bipartisan bill would amend the Social Security Act with respect to the qualification of the foodservice director at a federally funded (Medicare or Medicaid)…

With the Certified Foodservice Professional exam no longer being offered at the NAFEM or NRA shows, industry personnel should take advantage of an opportunity next month in Chicago. Each August, NAFEM headquarters in Chicago hosts an in-person Equipment & Supplies Overview Seminar. This year’s seminar is Wed., Aug. 14, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. CST. Participants…

Forty restaurant owners in the Bronx have sued the city, calling the New York Health Department’s grading system unconstitutional and an unfair tax on small businesses. In a $150 million lawsuit, the operators accuse health inspectors of levying excessive fines to raise revenue and driving eateries out of business. In addition, they claim the inspectors…

And the biggest county on the West Coast has some news about restaurant inspections as well. Beginning July 1, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department will go paperless and move to an all-electronic inspection reporting process. The new online process will be gradually instituted countywide throughout the summer and fall by November. Inspectors will…

It took an upgrade to table service for two Florida-based quick-service chains to get the thumbs-up to open their doors in Winter Park, Fla. The city, near Orlando, agreed to zone in fast-casual concepts Firehouse Subs and BurgerFi for Park Avenue, its upscale dining and shopping district, but only if the chains would modify their…

Workers who picketed quick-service operations in hopes of earning a living wage were disappointed across the country when only one state passed a bill to increase the minimum wage. After the president’s State of the Union address called for a $1.75 increase at the federal level, wage legislation flooded state legislatures in 2013. Twenty-nine states…

McDonald’s is giving members of the British public unique access to go behind the scenes of the farms and factories in its supply chain and evaluate and report on what they find there. The “quality scouts” initiative allows volunteers, led by former rugby star and Celebrity Masterchef winner Phil Vickery, to visit different parts of…