Currently, there is no one book or textbook that covers all aspects of
retail food safety. It is becoming apparent that a number of issues
relating to retail food safety have come to the forefront in some
jurisdictions of late. For example, a recent USDA risk assessment has
pointed out that issues occurring at USA retail appear to be critical in
terms of contamination of deli-meat. As well, a large listeriosis
outbreak in Quebec pointed to retail cross-contamination as a key issue.
In terms of sanitation, a number of advances have been made, but these
have not all been synthesized together in one chapter, with a focus on
retail. In addition, the whole area of private standards and the Global
Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) have come to the forefront of late and
these as well will be explored in great detail. Other aspects related to
the safety of important food commodities such as seafood, meat, produce
and dairy will also be discussed and salient areas addressed.