Food safety research underpinning food service systems – a review

Food service systems allow the decoupling of food production from service and offer economies of scale. However, the multiple steps in processing introduce additional safety risks in comparison with the traditional preparation. Operators need to be aware of the preservation principles and the type of data available in food safety research. This paper provides justification and describes the link between different types of studies in the field: surveys of background microflora, challenge studies, food safety design, predictive modelling, hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) and good manufacturing practices (GMP). The needs and directions for further research are identified.