Abstract

Food service operations are highly diverse, but they have many common challenges. Food service kitchen facilities are often small and cramped, but may be home to a huge variety of ingredients and recipe processes. Operations can include temporary, mobile, or “pop-up” facilities such as street foods, where food preparation may be done with limited access to running water for washing and hygiene facilities. Staff turnover may be high, and personnel may have limited food safety knowledge and training. Overall, the food-service industry is highly complex, and one size does not fit all when it comes to food safety management systems and procedures. This chapter discusses the steps involved in applying Codex HACCP principles in food service businesses, outlining some of the challenges and highlighting flexibility suggestions from authoritative sources such as Codex and the EU Commission. Four model systems developed as simplified approaches to food safety management in food services are presented, and additional guidance from the European Food Safety Agency for specific business types is described. Links are provided to all models and resources, and this chapter aims to be a reference resource for food businesses who wish to identify an approach to HACCP that best fits their operations.