By Christine McPheter
Food service operations have been revolutionized beyond the typical corner diner or family dinner table. Online meal kits, mobile food trucks, online grocery shopping and more have transformed how we shop and eat.
The Kansas Department of Agriculture did a review of social media sources for online food sales. The two most popular were Facebook Marketplace and Facebook private groups. Of all food sales via Facebook, the Marketplace function makes up 82 percent of food sales. These selling platforms were analyzed for state licensing risks related to food safety. They found 45.3% of foods sold were high-risk such as entrées, meats, and seafood. Medium-risk foods made up 41.3% such as canned goods, eggs and dairy. Low-risk foods made up 13.3% such as produce and baked goods.
To help these groups succeed, education tools for social media are being created to help keep buyers from getting foodborne illness.
Source: https://bit.ly/2WzsGUV
