# Food Safety - TAP Series vs. ServSafe?



## margotron (Oct 3, 2012)

In culinary school, I earned a certification of Food Safety Manager in the TAP Series program... Does that differ from the Food Safety Manager certification offered by ServSafe?  I have a new job that would like me to submit my certificate and I didn't even think about it being from a different program, even though it is the "same" achievement.


----------



## seabeecook (Aug 23, 2008)

It should be similar to ServSafe. TAP is listed as an approved course for my county. I used to take ServSafe, but switched to the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals six years ago because of the cost. It's the course that my county (El Dorado Co., Calif.) teaches. The content is the same between ServSafe and NRFSP in my experience.

What's important here is the content, not the certificate. I would submit your certificate. You may need to show from your county environmental health website that the TAP course is valid.So, do your homework. Then be ready to demonstrate to the chef that you know how to apply what you learned.

The ServSafe course comes with well-developed books and videos. As a result, it's cost more. (If I remember correctly, our instructor used a ServSafe video in the NRFSP course!) Glossy photos and restaurant sets that replicate the perfect food service world. My experience is that the non-ServSafe courses do it for less cost, which is attractive to culinary schools and businesses.


----------

