ABSTRACT
Retail food operations include food markets where food is sold to be prepared in the home; food preparation and foodservice establishments that include restaurants, institutional foodservice units, street vending operations, hotel and lodging operations, military commissaries, and even the home, which is actually a miniature foodservice unit. Highly contaminated raw food can be made safe if retail food operators know the level of contamination. Retail food regulations developed from the Food and Drug Administration food codes are incomplete because the range of foods that can cause a Foodborne illness is limited by the potentially hazardous food definition. Producers and operators of retail food establishments should communicate the amount of residual risk associated with food items to consumers through labels on containers or other various media presentations. To begin a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) continuous improvement program, management must make a longterm commitment to food safety assurance and form a HACCP development team.
