We received this letter from our account manager at the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF):
June 13, 2008
SolarBee, Inc.
PO Box 1930
Dickinson, ND 58602-1930
NSF has received several reports from water utilities about suppliers claiming that certain products are “NSF Approved” or “Made from NSF Approved or Certified Materials,” yet when the utilities look to verify the claim on the official NSF Listings website, they find that the specific products are indeed not NSF Certified.
What is the difference between NSF Certified products and products made from NSF certified materials?
NSF Certification of products such as valves, pipes and fittings to NSF/ANSI Standard 61 involves a rigorous process of:
- Annual verification of the chemical formulation of each water contact material in the product.
- Annual on-site inspections of the manufacturer’s production facility to verify the materials and production process for each Certified product.
- Annual testing of samples of the complete finished product to ensure products meet the stringent requirements of NSF Standard 61 and do not leach dangerous levels of contaminants into drinking water.
NSF Certified products are listed on the NSF website at www.nsf.org/info/listings. This website, which is updated daily, includes all NSF certified products. If a product is not on the listings website, then it has not been certified by NSF.
When manufacturers claim their products are made from NSF approved materials, they are asking the water utility to take their word that the product conforms to NSF 61 requirements. That is not necessarily the case. Even products that utilize NSF Certified materials sometimes fail to meet the requirements of the standard when the fully assembled product is tested. Material handling, machining, surface finishes and treatments, and curing times can increase the chance of contaminants leaching into drinking water , which would fail the NSF 61 certification testing.
Please make sure that the products you specify have been fully evaluated and are tested and inspected on an annual ongoing basis to ensure compliance with NSF/ANSI Standard 61. You can only be sure if those products are certified by NSF if they are listed on the NSF website at www.nsf.org/info/listings.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Theresa Bellish
Group Leader- Standard 61
Water Distribution Systems
Cc: corporate file 1K940