Food Establishments
Note: This information applies to food establishments statewide, except in the Municipality of Anchorage. If you are a food service or market selling food within the limits of Anchorage, review requirements and other information from the Anchorage Health Department's Food Safety and Sanitation program before engaging in any food-related sales.
About Food Establishments
Food establishments are places where food-related activities take place, including displaying, packaging, preparing, processing, salvaging, selling, serving, storing, transporting, and vending food.
Kitchens in private homes, where food is prepared for family members or nonpaying guests, are not food establishments.
Types of Food Establishments
Food service is a category of establishments that serve food for people to eat.
Food service operations may prepare food on-site before serving or they may provide consumers with ready-to-eat food. The food can be sold or provided free of charge and consumers may eat the food on or off the premises.
Examples of food service establishments include restaurants, caterers, temporary food service, galleys, and food trucks.
Markets are a category of establishments that offer food items for consumption at another location.
These establishments include those that offer food commodities for retail sale to consumers, distribute food items to the needy as part of a nonprofit organization, or store food products before sale or distribution.
Examples of market establishments include convenience stores, grocery stores, food banks, meat markets, and supermarkets.
Food processing is a category of establishments that process food for wholesale distribution
These facilities process and store food that is intended for human consumption. The food products will ultimately be distributed to a food service, market, or other consumer outlet.
Examples of food processing establishments include canneries, coffee roasters, wholesale bakeries, ice manufacturers, and warehouses.
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