Equipment manufacturers—and everyone else, for that matter—watch your calendar. Enhanced testing and new verification requirements for equipment wearing the Energy Star label go into effect Jan. 1.As many of you probably recall, a year ago, a Government Accounting Office study revealed abuses in the Energy Star program (on the domestic appliance side), and the Environmental…

There’s just a little more than a year for operators to reap the benefits of the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010. The bill, signed by President Obama at the end of September, gives restaurants an extra incentive to purchase new foodservice equipment as long as the purchase is completed during the 2010…

Cooking in an outdoor oven set up on makeshift tables behind a restaurant is against health codes nearly everywhere—and perhaps strains common sense, as well. Last month, a caterer working at the Hyatt Regency in Santa Clara, Calif., received an official reminder of how and where to use proper cooking equipment. State law requires that…

Canada’s economy and restaurant business has held steadier during the recession than in the United States, but that doesn’t mean its restaurateurs are any happier. According to a new survey by the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, reducing red tape and bureaucracy was the No. 1 election issue this fall for Toronto’s restaurant community; nine…

Dubai already has the world’s tallest building. Now, on a more human scale, it plans to address food safety. After nearly 20% of the food imported to Dubai last year had to be destroyed for not meeting food-safety requirements, the country’s foodservice kitchens and food imports will be subject to new regulations. The new “Person…

It’s been years of diner beware for food truck fans left questioning the literal meaning of roach coach. Now, it looks as though health-department letter grades are coming to food trucks in Los Angeles County. Last week, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors took the first step toward approving a similar system for food trucks.…

Now here’s a case study on just how crucial spec’ing and placement of the right ventilation system is to a foodservice operation. In August, we told you about the court battle between a popular Washington, D.C. burger joint and a neighboring law firm over the restaurant’s “intense and noxious” grilling fumes. The eight-month fight appears…

The clock is ticking, mid-term elections are nearing, and it doesn’t look likely that the federal food safety bill that’s been gathering dust in the Senate is going to go anywhere soon. Despite broad bipartisan support, S.510 Food Safety Modernization Act remains deadlocked. Legislators say that the measure might not be perfect but it is…

Quick update on McDonald’s and healthcare: The burger giant and 29 other companies that provide very limited health insurance benefits to nearly one million workers have been granted 1-year waivers by the federal government from a provision of the new health-reform law. The companies, including Jack in the Box, offer “mini-med” plans which cap coverage…

The Food Safety Modernization Act and Child Nutrition Act are both languishing in Washington, victims of intraparty fighting and the looming mid-term elections. But a few things are getting done on the state level. Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a landmark piece of food safety legislation: the California Food Handler Card Act. The new law…