Ready-to-Eat Food

Ready-to-eat (RTE) food includes items such as salads, sandwiches, sliced deli meats, sushi, cheeses, cut fruit, and pre-packaged meals served cold. Because these products bypass a final microbial-reducing step at the point of consumption, any pathogens introduced during preparation, handling or storage can reach the consumer directly.

RTE foods carry a higher food safety risk than foods that will be cooked. Surfaces, equipment, and hands that contact RTE food require stricter cleaning, sanitising, and cross-contamination controls than those used for raw ingredients destined for cooking.

Central to food safety programmes in supermarkets, catering, food manufacturing, aged care kitchens, hospitals, and airline catering; drives the use of dedicated food-contact sanitisers, colour-coded equipment, and separation of raw and RTE workflows.