Field Operations / Inspections
Definitions
The following definitions are provided so you can determine the proper permit to apply for, based upon the type of establishment you plan to operate:
Food: Any raw, cooked or processed edible substance, beverage, ingredient, ice, or water used or intended for use or for sale in whole or in part for human consumption.
Potentially Hazardous Food: Any food which consists in whole or in part of milk or milk products, eggs, meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, edible crustacea, cooked potato, cooked rice or other ingredients, including synthetic ingredients, in a form capable of supporting: (1) rapid and progressive growth of infectious, or toxigenic microorganisms; or (2) the slower growth of C. botulinum.
Food Service Establishment: A place where food is provided for individual portion service directly to the consumer, whether the food is provided free of charge or sold and whether the food is consumed on or off the premises. This includes restaurants, employee cafeterias, bakeries, takeouts, pizzerias, night clubs, cabarets, and bars.
Temporary Food Service Establishment: Any food service establishment which operates at a fixed location for a temporary period of time, not to exceed 14 consecutive days, in connection with a single event or celebration such as a fair, carnival, circus, public exhibition, advertising campaign or business promotion, religious or fraternal organization function or transitory gathering.
Note: A Permit is required for a Temporary Food Establishment participating in an event lasting more than one day or more than one block in length. For those events lasting less than one day and limited to one city block, a Temporary Food Establishment must obtain a Certifcate of Registration.
- Non-processing establishment - Temporary Food Service Establishment on or in which only pre-packaged foods or foods which do not require cooking or any other treatment which exposes the food to contamination is provided, e.g., whole fruits, packaged ice cream, pre-packaged snack foods. There must be no processing equipment used, stored or displayed in a non-processing establishment.
- Processing establishment - Temporary Food Service Establishment on or in which foods are prepared, sliced, mixed, broiled, fried, baked or otherwise processed or in which potentially hazardous foods are handled, prepared or served.
Non-Retail Food Processing Establishments: A place where food is processed, prepared, stored or packed for consumption off the premises and not given or sold directly to the consumer. This includes food vending machine commissaries, mobile food unit commissaries and places where fish or shellfish are kept, sold or offered for sale and are not otherwise regulated or permitted by the Department of Agriculture and Markets or other appropriate regulatory agency.
- Mobile Food Unit Commissary: Any place in which food, containers or supplies are processed, prepared, handled, packed, transferred or stored, and from which food is distributed to a food vendor or from which a mobile food unit is supplied.
- Mobile Food Unit Depot: Any place where five or more mobile food units and their non-food supplies are stored or serviced.
Frozen Dessert: Ice cream, frozen custard, french ice cream, french custard ice cream, artificially sweetened ice milk, fruit sherbet, non-fruit sherbet, granita, water ices, non-fruit water ices, confection frozen without stirring, dairy confection frozen without stirring, manufactured dessert mix, frozen confection, melorine frozen dessert, parevine, frozen yogurt, freezer made shakes, freezer made milk shakes, dietary frozen dessert, whipped cream confection and bisque tortoni together with any mix used in making such frozen dessert. In addition, any products which are similar in appearance, odor or
taste, or are prepared or frozen as frozen desserts are customarily prepared and
frozen, whether made with dairy products or non-dairy products are included as frozen desserts in this definition. Any operation producing chips or flakes of ice made from water with or without additives, served to the consumer with or without flavoring added by the operator or consumer is included as a frozen dessert within this definition, such operation being commonly known as a slush operation.
Retail Frozen Dessert Manufacturing (MFD): Any place, or premises, or any part thereof, including specific applicable areas in retail stores, stands, hotels, restaurants, mobile food units, and other retail food service operations whether temporary or permanent where frozen desserts are manufactured, processed, assembled, frozen and stored for distribution or sale at retail directly to the consumer and shall include rooms or space where utensils or equipment are stored or washed and sanitized, or where ingredients for use in manufacturing the frozen desserts are stored.
June 2001
For more information on Inspections, call 212-676-1600.
