Discussions included the topic of “ghost kitchens” and the necessity for food safety measures that include food handler training and consumer education.  International regulatory parties also discussed their own experiences in this area and noted the lack of consistent standards between nations in this area.  FDA learned that populations across all ages and economic divides order food online. FDA noted that the issue is not unique to the United States and that, in fact, China’s food delivery apps have the largest market penetration with the United States coming in second.

FDA will consider the discussions from the meeting to tackle questions regarding the appropriate time and temperature controls to ensure food safety and how to safeguard against cross-contamination between ready-to-eat and raw foods.  Public comments may be submitted electronically to regulations.gov under Docket FDA-2021-N-0929 and will be accepted until November 20, 2021.