A recent study has characterized the challenges of ensuring food safety in “dark kitchens”—which sell food for takeout or delivery solely via online platforms and may operate out of shared kitchens—from the perspectives of both environmental health officers and the business operators themselves.
The IAFNS 2022 Annual Meeting and Science Symposium featured a panel that addressed emerging food safety concerns associated with new modes of food retail, such as e-commerce, ghost kitchens, and delivery services.
Food safety concerns of off-premises sales for restaurants are the food safety risks associated with food preparation and the additional risk of keeping the food safe after the food has been prepared.
It may be time for the leading third-party food delivery platforms to establish a single, reasonable food safety standard, as current rules largely exclude these services from regulation.
