Food Protection Information

What is a Food Establishment? 

As Defined by the "Missouri 2013 Food Code"

(1) “Food establishment” means an operation that:

(a) Stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends food directly to the consumer or otherwise provides food for human consumption such as a restaurant; satellite or catered feeding location; catering operation if the operation provides food directly to a consumer or to a conveyance used to transport people; market; vending location; conveyance used to transport people; institution; or food bank;

(b) Relinquishes possession of food to a consumer, directly or indirectly, through a delivery service such as home delivery of grocery orders or restaurant takeout orders, or delivery service that is provided by common carriers; and

(2) “Food establishment” includes:

(a) An element of the operation such as a transportation vehicle or a central preparation facility that supplies a vending location or satellite feeding location; and

(b) An operation that is conducted in a mobile, stationary, temporary, or permanent facility or location; where consumption is on or off the premises; and regardless of whether there is a charge for the food.

(3) “Food establishment” does not include:

(a) An establishment that offers only prepackaged foods that are not potentially hazardous foods;

(b) A produce stand that only offers whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables;

(c) A food processing plant; including those that are located on the premises of a food establishment;

(d) A kitchen in a private home if only food that is not potentially hazardous food, is prepared for sale or service at a function such as a religious or charitable organization’s bake sale if allowed by law and if the consumer is informed by a clearly visible placard at the sales or service location that the food is prepared in a kitchen that is not subject to regulation and inspection by the regulatory authority;

(e) An area where food that is prepared as specified in Subparagraph (3)(d) of this definition is sold or offered for human consumption;

(f) A kitchen in a private home, such as a small family day-care provider; or a bed-and-breakfast operation, that prepares and offers food to guests if the home is owner occupied, the number of available guest bedrooms does not exceed four (4), and breakfast is the only meal offered;

(g) A private home that receives catered or home-delivered food; or 10

(h) Where local codes allow, individual stands in which only foods meeting the following conditions are sold, sampled or served:

(i) Non-potentially hazardous processed food, except low acid canned and acidified foods as specified in 21 CFR 113 and 114 respectively, including, but not limited to breads, cookies, fruit pies, jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butters, honey, sorghum, cracked nuts, packaged spices and spice mixes, dry cookie, cake, bread, and soup mixes;

(ii) The seller is the individual actually producing the food or an immediate family member residing in the producer’s household with extensive knowledge about the food;

(iii) The seller only sells, samples or serves the food directly to the end consumer;

(iv) All processed packaged foods bear a label stating the name and address of the manufacturer/processor preparing the food, common name of the food, name of all the ingredients in the food in order of predominance, the net weight of the food in English or metric units, and a statement that the product is prepared in a kitchen that is not subject to inspection by the department. It is recommended that honey manufacturers/processors include this additional statement to their product label: “Honey is not recommended for infants less than twelve (12) months of age”; and

(v) The consumer is informed by a clearly visible placard at the sales or service location that the food is prepared in a kitchen that is not subject to inspection by the department if the foods specified in Part 3. H. (I) of this definition, are sold, sampled or served in unpackaged, individual portions. The department shall have the final authority in determining whether a food is non-potentially hazardous and may enjoin individuals who violate the provisions of this subparagraph from selling, sampling or serving these foods.