The Flow of Food

HACCP begins with a concept called the flow of food. This term refers to the movement of food through a food service operation, from receiving through the stages of storage, preparation, and service, until it gets to the consumer.

The flow of food is different for each item prepared. Some menu items involve many steps, including receiving of ingredients, storing ingredients, preparing ingredients (such as trimming fruit), cooking, holding, serving, cooling, storing leftovers, reheating leftovers, and so on. Even the simplest items undergo several steps. For example, a cake that is bought already prepared from a commercial baker and served as dessert goes through at least the following steps on its way to the customer: