Just an FYI for those who must become food safety certified and maintain that certification -
This week I completed the ServSafe Certification and my instructor let us know that as of January 1, 2014, any state-level food safety certifications will be replaced by ServSafe. He went on to explain that ServSafe will be the recognized food safety certification in the U.S., as it is in several other countries.
For example, I live in Illinois (home of "crook" county) and this week we had the option of taking the state food safety exam or the ServSafe exam. However, starting Jan. 1, 2014, you will only have the option to take the ServSafe exam.
Therefore, given this change as of Jan 1, 2014, if you are planning to obtain your food safety certification in the U.S. between now and the end of this year, you may want to consider taking the ServSafe exam instead of any state-level exam.