Off-Site Service, Mobile Units, Vending and High-Risk Customers

Catering and Off-Site Food Service

Serving food away from the primary kitchen introduces unique hazards during transit and holding. Managers must provide food-safe, cleanable, leak-resistant transport containers and use insulated containers when needed to maintain safe food temperatures. Hot TCS food transported off-site must be maintained at an internal temperature of 135°F (57°C) or higher, while cold TCS food must stay at 41°F (5°C) or lower. Managers must train staff to measure and record internal food temperatures before leaving the commissary and immediately upon arrival at the venue.

Transport vehicles must be kept clean and sanitary. Managers must transport food so chemicals and waste cannot contaminate it, using separate loads or effective separation and protection as needed. Inside the vehicle and containers, raw animal proteins must be packed and transported below or completely separate from ready-to-eat foods to prevent cross-contamination. Managers must ensure off-site food is clearly identified, and that refrigerated, ready-to-eat TCS food held for more than 24 hours is date-marked as required. Note that a preparation date, discard time, and reheating instructions are not universally required on every catering package.

When arriving at an off-site venue, managers must verify that the site has an approved, potable water supply before any food preparation begins. An accessible, approved handwashing setup must be provided where required, equipped with running water at least 85°F (29°C), soap, a sanitary way to dry hands, and a waste container if disposable towels are used. If electrical equipment is unavailable off-site, managers must provide approved equipment, such as insulated carriers or properly operated fuel-fired hot-holding equipment, that keeps hot TCS food at 135°F (57°C) or higher.

When reheating TCS food cooked and cooled in the operation for hot holding, managers must ensure it reaches 165°F (74°C) for 15 seconds within two hours. Commercially processed, packaged ready-to-eat food reheated for hot holding need only reach 135°F (57°C). If temperature control fails, managers must determine the food’s time and temperature history, take an appropriate corrective action when permitted, or discard unsafe food; a four-hour time-as-a-public-health-control procedure must be established before food is removed from temperature control, and the food must be served or discarded within four hours. In-use serving utensils must be stored with handles above the food and container rim or on a clean, protected surface, and off-site garbage containers must be leak-proof, pest-resistant, covered when not in continuous use, and located away from prep areas.