The past decade has witnessed explosive growth in prepackaged fresh foods designed to be consumed on the go. Individually packaged sandwiches, salads, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, and snack boxes filled with nuts, hard-boiled eggs, peanut butter, and other foods are readily available at convenience stores, gas stations, coffee shops, grocery store delis, and in almost all airports. Many of these products carry higher microbial risk.

Food companies that prepare these fresh food items often source the individual ingredients from primary suppliers. The food safety risk is typically controlled at primary supplier plants or farms. Should the supplier fail to control the risk and the contamination goes undetected by the receiving plant, the end result could be a foodborne illness outbreak.