Although Sunday is presumably about the Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, it’s also about the food served at watch parties across the nation. While the Chiefs’ fanbase leans towards barbecue or chili and 49ers’ fans favor seafood or soup in sourdough bread bowls, there is one food that reigns supreme: Americans will consume an estimated 1.45 billion wings during the game.

As millions of football fans cheer on their favorite team and devour wings, they’ll worry about the score but not about the safety of the food. That is a testament to PSSI’s sanitation team members and their colleagues in the industry whose hard work sanitizing and cleaning food processing facilities ensures that whether serving barbecue, bread bowls or (a lot of) wings, it will be safe for consumption.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 48 million Americans get sick from foodborne diseases caused by five germs, including salmonella. To avoid getting struck down, the CDC outlines four steps to food safety individuals can follow at home—clean (hands and surfaces often), separate (don’t cross-contaminate), cook (to the right temperature), and chill (refrigerate promptly).  These are all great tips, but the importance of food safety starts before unpacking the groceries begins.

Without effective cleaning and sanitation procedures at processing and manufacturing facilities, foodborne illnesses can spread, potentially leading to product recalls that can harm Americans and irreparably damage a company’s reputation. With such high stakes, PSSI knows that when it comes to food safety, we must take a total protection mindset. We want our customers to be reassured that they are supported by professional team members and PSSI’s proven 8 Steps of Sanitation Process which ensures their facility is safe, clean, and audit ready.  

The work PSSI team members undertake in our customers’ facilities can often be challenging. Yet, they come to work every day to help secure the nation’s food supply—and ensure those wings won’t bring the party down. Food safety workers won’t be on the field this Sunday, but they are the true MVPs of any Super Bowl gathering.