For purposes of this Article 8, the following terms have the following meanings:
“Bar or tavern” means any Food Preparation and Service Establishment which primarily prepares and/or serves alcoholic beverages.
“Bed and breakfast establishment” means a “restricted food service facility” as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 113893, as may be amended from time to time.
“Boardinghouse” means any building or portion thereof occupied or intended, arranged, or designed for occupation, by six or more but less than 35 guests, where sleeping rooms and meals are provided to the guests for compensation; in addition, Boardinghouse includes all private institutional-type homes where inspection is made by the Department of Public Health.
“Caterer” means a person who is in the business of providing food, beverages, and sometimes service, at social gatherings. The caterer prepares the food at a location separate from the social gathering, though the caterer may engage in Limited food preparation at the location where the caterer serves the food. A caterer is not a private chef or chef for hire who prepares food in a private home.
“Catering facility” means any Food Preparation and Service Establishment where a caterer prepares food for service at another location.
(1) “Catering facility - Cooking” means a Catering facility where food is cooked for service at another location.
(2) “Catering facility - No Cooking” means a Catering facility where Limited food preparation occurs, but cooking is not allowed.
“City” means City and County of San Francisco.
“Commissary” means any food establishment in which food, containers, equipment, or supplies are stored or handled for use in vehicles, mobile food preparation units, food carts, or vending machines.
(1) “Commissary for cooking” means a Commissary where cooking occurs.
(2) “Commissary for Mobile Food Facility servicing” means a Commissary where food is stored for a Mobile Food Facility, and where no food preparation or cooking is allowed.
“Consumer” has the meaning set forth in California Health and Safety Code Section 113757, as may be amended from time to time.
“Cooking school” means a school where students prepare and consume food products.
“Director” means the “Director of Health of the City1
or the Director’s designee. “Inspectors” shall mean the “Inspectors of the Department of Public Health,” administered by said Director. The Director shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of this Article 8 and the rules and regulations relating thereto. The Director shall, after a public hearing, prescribe the rules and regulations relating thereto. All Food Preparation and Service Establishments shall be operated, conducted, and maintained in accordance therewith.
“Employee Cafeteria” means a food facility located within business premises where the business employees are provided or sold food on a regular basis. Food and drink are not regularly served to the public and the food establishment is not subject to tax. The operators of the food facility are either employees of the business or are contracted by that business.
“Food demonstrations” means any food preparation and/or service facility operating out of temporary facilities approved by the Director of Health for a period of time not to exceed seven consecutive days for purposes of demonstrating food preparation or equipment.
“Food Preparation and Service Establishment” means any restaurant, mobile food facility, guest house, boardinghouse, special events, school food concessions, bar or tavern, take-out establishment, fast food establishment, caterer, catering facility, temporary facility, food demonstration, commissary, pushcart, stadium concession, vending machine, bed and breakfast establishment, employee cafeteria, private school cafeteria, hospital kitchen, and licensed health care facility, as those terms are defined herein.
“Guest house” means any building or portion thereof occupied or intended, arranged, or designed for occupation, by 35 or more guests where sleeping rooms and meals are provided to the guests for compensation and shall include “guest house,” “residence club,” “lodge,” “dormitory,” “residence cooperative,” and any of its variants.
“Hospital kitchen” means any food preparation and service facility operating within a hospital that serves food to staff or the general public, but not to patients.
“Host facility” has the meaning set forth in California Health and Safety Code Section 113806.1, as may be amended from time to time.
“Licensed Health Care Facility” means all of the following health facilities with 16 or more beds designated for the diagnosis, care, prevention, and treatment of human illness, physical or mental, including convalescence, rehabilitation, and care during and after pregnancy, to which persons are admitted for a 24-hour stay or longer:
(1) General Acute Care Hospital as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 1250(a) or any successive statutes;
(2) Acute Psychiatric Hospital as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 1250(b) or any successive statutes;
(3) Skilled Nursing Facility as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 1250(c) or any successive statutes;
(4) Intermediate Care Facility as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 1250(d) or any successive statutes;
(5) Special Hospital as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 1250(f) or any successive statutes;
(6) Intermediate Care Facility/Developmentally Disabled as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 1250(g) or any successive statutes; and
(7) Chemical Dependency Recovery Facility as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 1250.3 or any successive statutes.
Any of the facility types listed above that are operated by the State of California Departments of Mental Health, Developmental Services, Corrections, or Youth Authority are not included in this definition.
“Limited food preparation” has the meaning set forth in California Health and Safety Code Section 113818, as may be amended from time to time.
“Limited service charitable feeding operation” has the meaning set forth in California Health and Safety Code Section 113819, as may be amended from time.
“Mobile Food Facility” means any vehicle or pushcart used in conjunction with a commissary or other permanent food facility upon which food is sold or distributed at retail. Mobile Food Facilities may be located on private or public property. Mobile Food Facility does not include a “Transporter” used to transport packaged food from a food facility or other approved source to the Consumer. There are five categories of Mobile Food Facilities for licensing and fee payment purposes under Business and Tax Regulations Code Section 249.1 as set forth below.
(1) “Mobile Food Facility 1” means a Mobile Food Facility where a Mobile Food Facility Vendor handles prepackaged and non-potentially hazardous foods, including but not limited to, pastries, bagels, donuts, popcorn, chips, candies, sodas, or bottled drinks.
(2) “Mobile Food Facility 2” means a Mobile Food Facility where a Mobile Food Facility Vendor handles prepackaged and potentially hazardous foods, including but not limited to, cold sandwiches, salads, pasta, or cold noodles.
(3) “Mobile Food Facility 3” means a Mobile Food Facility where a Mobile Food Facility Vendor handles non-prepackaged and non-potentially hazardous foods, including but not limited to, churros, salted bagels, cotton candy, lemonade, or tea.
(4) “Mobile Food Facility 4” means a Mobile Food Facility where a Mobile Food Facility Vendor engages in Limited food preparation.
(5) “Mobile Food Facility 5” means a Mobile Food Facility where a Mobile Food Facility Vendor engages in full food preparation or any food preparation not covered by Mobile Food Facility Categories 1-4, including but not limited to, tacos, burritos, crepes, or falafel.
“Mobile Food Facility Vendor” means any person engaged in the business of operating a Mobile Food Facility within the City.
“Owner” or “owners” mean those persons, partnerships, or corporations who are financially interested in the operation of a Food Preparation and Service Establishment.
“Operator” means any person engaged in the dispensing of or in assisting in the preparation of food, or a person otherwise employed in a Food Preparation and Service Establishment.
“Potentially hazardous food” has the meaning set forth in California Health and Safety Code Section 113871, as may be amended from time to time.
“Prepackaged food” has the meaning set forth in California Health and Safety Code Section 113876, as may be amended from time to time.
“Private school cafeteria” means any food preparation and service facility serving food to faculty and/or students of a school not operated by the San Francisco Unified School District.
“Restaurant” means any coffee shop, cafeteria, short-order cafe, luncheonette, cocktail lounge, sandwich stand, soda fountain, public school cafeteria or eating establishment, in-plant or employee eating establishment, and any other eating establishment, organization, club, including Veterans’ Club, boardinghouse, bed and breakfast establishments, or guest house, which gives, sells, or offers for sale, food to the public, guests, patrons, or employees as well as kitchens or other food preparation areas in which food is prepared on the premises for serving or consumption on or off the premises, and requires no further preparation, and also includes manufacturers of perishable food products that prepare food on the premises for sale directly to the public. The term “restaurant” shall not include mobile food facilities, cooperative arrangements made by employees who purchase food or beverages for their own consumption and where no employee is assigned full-time to care for or operate equipment used in such arrangement, or private homes; nor shall the term “restaurant” include churches, church societies, private clubs, or other nonprofit associations of a religious, philanthropic, civic improvement, social, political, or educational nature, which purchase food, food products, or beverages, or which receive donations of food, food products, or beverages for service without charge to their members, or for service or sale at a reasonable charge to their members or to the general public at occasional fundraising events, for consumption on or off the premises at which the food, food products, or beverages are served or sold, if the service or sale of such food, food products, or beverages does not constitute a primary purpose or function of the club or association, and if no employee or member is assigned full-time to care for or operate equipment used in such arrangements.
“School food concessions” means any food preparation, food service, or food products intended for consumption by students attending or participating in activities within a school facility.
“Shared kitchen complex” means a facility that provides services and restrooms to Food Preparation and Service Establishments located within the facility for the purpose of cleaning, storage, refuse disposal, and wastewater disposal.
“Special events” means any organized collection of food purveyors operating individually or collaboratively out of approved temporary or mobile food facilities at a fixed location for a period of time not to exceed 25 days in a 90-day period in conjunction with a single, weekly, or monthly community event as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 113755, as may be amended from time to time.
“Stadium concession” means any food preparation and/or service facility operating within the footprint of a stadium, arena, or auditorium, with a seating capacity of 25,000 or more.
“Take-out establishment” means any Food Preparation and Service Establishment that primarily prepares food for consumption off premises.
“Temporary facility” means any food preparation and service facility operating out of temporary facilities approved by the Director of Health at a fixed location for a period of time not to exceed 25 days in any 90-day period in conjunction with a single event or celebration.
“Vending machine” means any self-service device, which upon insertion of money, credit card, mobile payment, or tokens, dispenses Potentially hazardous food or beverages without the necessity of replenishing the device between each vending operation.
(Amended by Ord. 241-70; App. 7/14/70; Ord. 26-88, App. 1/28/88; Ord. 341-88, App. 7/28/88; Ord. 206-93, App. 6/25/93; Ord. 121-97, App. 4/9/97; Ord. 84-00, File No. 000424, App. 5/12/2000; Ord. 233-08, File No. 080621, App. 10/30/2008; Ord. 178-10, File No. 100720, App. 7/23/2010; Ord. 298-10, File No. 101352, App. 12/3/2010; Ord. 172-12
, File No. 120638, App. 7/27/2012, Eff. 8/26/2012; Ord. 252-19, File No. 190710, App. 11/15/2019, Eff. 12/16/2019)
CODIFICATION NOTE