Fort Worth City Code § 16-101 DEFINITIONS.
§ 16-101 DEFINITIONS.
Unless a provision explicitly states otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this article, shall have the meanings hereinafter designated. If a word or term used in this article is not contained in the following list, it shall have the definition provided for such word or term in Tex. Administrative Code Title 25.
ABANDONED SLOT. A slot for which the user has failed to meet the requirements for minimum operating hours under § 16-186(c)(11).
ANIMAL FOOD. Meat, poultry, shell eggs and ratites intended for human consumption. Examples of meat may include the flesh of cattle, swine, sheep and game animals. Poultry may include the flesh of birds such as chicken, turkey, duck and game birds.
ATTENTION-GETTING DEVICES. Any mechanical or electronic sound producing device or lighting device employed to attract patrons to any pushcart.
AVAILABLE SLOT. One of the permissible slots available for use.
BED AND BREAKFAST HOME. A property with a structure(s) existing on December 21, 1993, designed for and occupied as a single-family residence providing overnight accommodations to transient guests. The structure(s) serves as the primary residence or homestead of its owneroperator, with the bed and breakfast home considered to be an accessory use under the city's zoning ordinance, and not the primary use of the property. The person who owns the property must also be the operator of the establishment.
BEVERAGE. A liquid for drinking, including water.
CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER. Any person who holds a valid food manager certificate issued under Chapter 438, Subchapter G of the Texas Health and Safety Code.
CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP. A change of owner or operator of a food establishment business, and does not refer to a change of owner of the building where the business is located.
CITY MANAGER. The city manager for the City of Fort Worth or his or her designated representative.
COMMERCIALLY MANUFACTURED VEHICLE. A vehicle originally manufactured as, or converted or retrofitted to be, a mobile food vehicle by a person regularly in the business of manufacturing, converting, or retrofitting mobile food vehicles to be used for the preparation of TCS food.
CENTRAL PREPARATION FACILITY. A fixed food service establishment permitted and regularly inspected by a regulatory health agency where food is prepared, stored, and packaged.
DEPARTMENT. The environmental services department of the City of Fort Worth.
DIRECTOR. The director of the environmental services department or his or her designee.
DOWNTOWN AREA. The area lying within the boundaries of the Fort Worth Public Improvement District No. 1 as established by the findings of the Fort Worth City Council in Resolution 3756-06-2009 or by future resolution adopted in accordance with state law.
EMPLOYEE. An individual working with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces. The permit holder, person in charge, food employee, person having supervisory or management duties, person on the payroll, family member, volunteer, person performing work under contractual agreement, or other person working in a food establishment.
EXTENSIVELY REMODELED. Any type of construction that results in remodeling of 20% or greater of the food preparation area or any remodeling that substantially alters the food storage or preparation area, including but not limited to enlarging the kitchen or reducing the size of the kitchen; adding or removing plumbing, including the wastewater lines; adding or removing plumbing fixtures, especially sinks; or adding or removing equipment that results in a layout modification.
FARMERS MARKET. An operation at a designated location used primarily for the distribution and sale directly to consumers of food products by farmers or other food producers of agricultural products. A FARMERS MARKET for the purposes of § 16-135 does not include a "flea market" or a retail grocery store.
FARMERS MARKET FOOD VENDOR. A farmer or other food producer that sells or distributes food at a farmers market.
FARMERS MARKET FOOD VENDOR PERMIT. An annual permit issued pursuant to the requirements of § 16-135(b).
FARMERS MARKET PERMIT. A food service establishment permit to operate a farmers market.
FOOD. Any raw, cooked or processed edible substance, ice, beverage or ingredient used or intended for use or for sale in whole or in part for human consumption, or chewing gum.
FOOD ESTABLISHMENT. Any place where food is manufactured, packaged, produced, processed, transported, stored, sold, commercially prepared, vended or otherwise handled. The term includes any such place regardless of the duration of the permit or whether there is a charge for the food. The term does not include private homes where food is prepared or served for guests and individual family consumption.
FOOD HANDLER. Any person who prepares, serves, packages or handles open food or drink, or who handles clean utensils, pots, pans or single-service articles,
FOOD OPERATIONS. Manufacturing, packaging, producing, processing, transporting, storing, selling, commercially preparing or otherwise handling food, ice or drinks, whether offered for sale, given in exchange or given away for use as food or offered for human consumption.
FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PUSHCART. Pushcarts with at least 75% of the inventory of the cart consisting of whole fruits and vegetables, with the remainder consisting of Non-TCS packaged foods.
MOBILE FOOD UNIT. A vehicle-mounted food service operation designed to be readily movable.
NON-TIME/TEMPERATURE FOR SAFETY FOOD (NON-TCS). All food that is not time/temperature for safety food. The following list is exemplary of such food and shall not be construed to be exclusive of any other non-TCS:
(1) Popcorn;
(2) Shelled, unshelled, raw or roasted nuts; and
(3) Pretzels.
NONPROFIT FACILITY.
(1) All government entities and political subdivisions and public school districts;
(2) Organizations chartered under the Texas non-profit corporation act; and
(3) Operations recognized by the United States Internal Revenue Service as exempt under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
OPEN. Not covered or sealed. Not so closed as to exclude the risk of contamination.
PERSON. Any individual, group of individuals, firm or corporation.
TIME/TEMPERATURE FOR SAFETY FOOD (TCS). A food that requires time/temperature control for safety to limit pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation.
PUBLIC PROPERTY.
(1) Any building, grounds or place:
a. Owned by the city, a unit of county, state or federal government or any other political subdivision of the State of Texas; or
b. Used or occupied by or/on behalf of the city, a unit of county, state, or federal government, or any other political subdivision of the State of Texas.
(2) The term PUBLIC PROPERTY includes, but is not limited to, public parks, public sidewalks and government buildings.
PUSHCART. A mobile food unit powered by human beings only. A pushcart may have a bicycle-type propulsion system, so long as there is no motorized component. It shall not include a fixed or mobile unit solely intended for use as a mobile bar, accessory drink stand, or part of a service area or buffet line, if it is part of or an extension of a fixed food or Beverage facility operating under a food service establishment permit and it is located on the permitted premises.
REGULATORY HEALTH AGENCY. A government entity having responsibility for enforcing public health laws and regulations in the jurisdiction where a food establishment is located. In the City of Fort Worth, this term includes the environmental services department.
RISK ANALYSIS. An analysis using commonly known public health risks to determine the degree of hazard a food establishment poses to the public.
SAMPLING. A food product promotion where only a bite-sized portion of food is offered free of charge to demonstrate its characteristics and shall not consist of a whole meal, an individual portion or a whole sandwich.
SANITIZE. The process of applying cumulative heat or chemicals on cleaned food-contact surfaces that, when evaluated for efficacy, yield a reduction of five logs, which is equal to a 99.999% reduction of representative disease microorganisms of public health importance.
SERVICING AREA. A designated area provided for the supplying, cleaning or servicing of pushcarts or mobile units.
SINGLE-SERVICE ARTICLES. Tableware, carry-out utensils and other items such as bags, containers, placemats, stirrers, straws, toothpicks and wrappers that are designed and constructed for one time, one person use.
SLOT. A designated general location, as approved by the city council, for the placement of a pushcart in the downtown area. Only the city council may create or alter slot designations in the downtown area.
TAC. The Texas Administrative Code.
TEMPORARY FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT. A food establishment that operates at a fixed location for not more than 14 consecutive days in conjunction with a single event or celebration.
TEXAS FOOD ESTABLISHMENT RULES. The current food establishment rules promulgated by the Texas Department of State Health Services, abbreviated as the TFER.
UTENSIL. Any food-contact implement or container used in the storage, preparation, transportation, dispensing, sale or service of food, such as kitchenware or tableware that is multiuse, single-service or single-use; glove used in contact with food; and food temperature measuring devices.
VARIANCE. A written document issued by the department that authorizes a modification or waiver of one or more requirements of this chapter if, in the opinion of the director, a health hazard or nuisance will not result from the modification or waiver.
WHOLESALE FISH TRUCKER. A person who, at other than a definite and fixed place of business, sells or offers to sell or exchange fish or seafood to dealers or retailers, and at the time of such sale or offer to sell, delivers or offers to deliver the fish or seafood to the buyer.
YARD EGGS. Ungraded shell eggs.
(Ord. 12553, § 1, passed 6-18-1996; Ord. 13749, § 1, passed 3-23-1999; Ord. 15241, § 1, passed 9-17-2002; Ord. 17522, § 5, passed 4-24-2007; Ord. 20665-03-2013, § 1, passed 3-19-2013, eff. 3-23-2013; Ord. 22242-05-2016, § 3, passed 5-24-2016; Ord. 27523-03-2025, § 1, passed 3-11-2025, eff. 4-18-2025)