[Home] [Search] The National Food Safety Database

How To Use This Website

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How Do I Find The Information I'm Looking For?

What Are Those Buttons At The Top Of The Page For?

How Do I Use The Search Feature?

What Are The Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Files For?

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How Do I Find The Information I'm Looking For?

There are two ways to move through this website. If you know exactly what you are looking for, there is the search feature, described below. However, for those of you who are browsing and want to see what we have to offer, we have also provided a menu system which will, we hope, allow you to move easily through our database. To use the menus, select "Browse The National Food Safety Database" on the home page.

To help you find information, the materials in the database are arranged in three sections based on the audience for which they are written: Consumer, Industry and Educator/Trainer. Consumer material contains information which is often requested by consumers. Consumer material also includes topics which are of immediate interest to the public, such as protecting the family from foodborne illnesses and guides to home canning. Industry material contains HACCP and other food handling regulations, as well as information on institutional food preparation and handling. The Educator/Trainer section contains interactive training and testing materials, slideshows and information about where educational kits can be obtained.

What Are Those Buttons At The Top Of The Page For?

As you move through this website, you will notice a series of buttons at the top of each page. These buttons are meant to help you move through the database more easily. If your browser (or modem) does not support downloading graphics, you will see text instead of buttons. Simply click on the text to help guide you through this website.

[Help] This button brings you to this page from almost every page in this database. We have done our best to answer the most-frequently-asked questions about our website, but if we didn't answer your question, please feel free to ask us.
[Home] Whenever you click on this button, you will be returned to the home page, where you may elect to return to the menu system or start a search. If you want to return to a previous page, use the "back" button, available on most browsers.
[Search] This button will take you to the search page, where you can click on any letter to see a list of words starting with the letter of the alphabet you chose.
[Email NFSD] This button will send you to a page where you can log your comments, questions or suggestions. In order for your message to be sent, you must include your city and state, but not your name. This provides statistics for our records, and we appreciate your cooperation.
[Get PDF] This button (does not appear on menu pages) will send an Adobe Acrobat file to your computer, which will allow you to print out a more formatted copy of the document than you would otherwise get by printing through your web browser. However, you must have Acrobat Reader on your computer in order to use these files. If you do not have the Reader, the Adobe website provides it free of charge.

How Do I Use The Search Feature?

This search feature is based on a word wheel. To find a topic you are interested in, start with a general term and select the letter with which that term begins. For example, if you are interested in a document on canning tomatoes, start with the term canning and click on the letter "C" in the chart above.

You will be taken to a menu of terms beginning with the letter "C." Scroll or page-down until you come to the term you are looking for and click on it. This will take you to a menu of document titles. Select the one that seems to most closely fit what you are looking for.

If you do not find a title that seems relevant to what you are looking for, consider trying other search terms. Rather than looking at canning you might try preservation or tomatoes.

What Are The Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Files For?

We provide the Adobe PDF files so that a user who wishes to use a document from our database may print out a more formatted version of the document. If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which allows you to view and print Acrobat files, you can download a free copy and find directions for installation at the Adobe website.

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