Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-8-010 Definitions.
4-8-010 Definitions.
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and the enforcement of this chapter and Chapters 7-38, 7-40, and 7-42 of this Code, unless the context clearly indicates that another meaning is intended. The listing of items as examples in any definition is intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive.
"Additional food preparation equipment" means any food preparation equipment used at a shared kitchen by a shared kitchen user that is not the property of such shared kitchen.
"Adulterated" means the condition of a food:
a. If it bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance in a quantity which may render it injurious to health;
b. If it bears or contains any added or deleterious substance for which no safe tolerance has been established or in excess of such tolerance if one has been established;
c. If it consists in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, decomposed substance, or if it is otherwise unfit for human consumption;
d. If it has been processed, prepared, packed or held under unsanitary conditions whereby it may become contaminated with filth, or whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health;
e. If it is in whole or in part the product of a diseased animal or animal which has died other than by slaughter;
f. If its container is composed in whole or in part of any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render the contents injurious to health.
"Approved" means acceptable to the Department of Health based on its determinations to conformance with the appropriate standards and good health practices.
"Area underserved by grocery stores" means an area, designated by the Commissioner of Planning and Development, that lacks adequate access to fresh and healthy food.
"Automatic food-vending machine" means any service container or mechanical device which upon insertion of a coin or token or by other similar means dispenses unit servings of food or drink either in bulk or in packages without the necessity of replenishing the device between each vending operation; and shall include a water-vending machine.
"Automatic food-vending machine business" means the business of installing, furnishing or servicing automatic food-vending machines.
"Bactericidal treatment" means the application of an approved method or substance to a clean surface for the destruction of pathogens and other organisms, so far as practicable, and which, in the opinion of the Department of Health, is effective and does not adversely affect the food, drink or equipment with which it comes in contact, or the health of the consumer of such food and drink.
"Bakery" means any establishment, place, vehicle or stand used for the manufacture of breads, buns, rolls, biscuits, cakes, crackers, matzos, pretzels, pastries, doughnuts, waffles, noodles, macaroni, spaghetti or ice cream cones, or any establishment used for the process of mixing, compounding or baking any food product, of which flour or meal is the principal ingredient, for sale to the public, or for the purpose of a restaurant, bakery, hotel, commissary or catering establishment.
"Board of Health" means the Board of Health of the City of Chicago, or its authorized representatives.
"Bottled-water plant" means any building, room, premises, place or establishment used for the preparation, manufacture, canning, bottling, packing, distribution, storage, selling or offering for sale at retail or wholesale, any article of beverage such as bottled water, nonalcoholic beverage, juice or juice drinks, packaged or unpackaged, used or intended for human consumption, or any such article which is an ingredient of, used for, mixed with or which enters into the composition of any beverage.
"Charitable food dispensing establishment" means any not-for-profit fixed location where food or drink is routinely provided for the public for consumption on or off the premises without charge. Such establishments include, but are not limited to, food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, Child and Adult Care Feeding Program (C.A.C.F.P.) sites and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sites.
"Charitable food vendor" means any entity exempt from income taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that, by traveling from place to place upon the public ways, serves previously prepared food that is enclosed or wrapped in individual portions, coffee, other beverages or whole and uncooked fruits or vegetables from a wheeled vehicle without charge.
"Closed" means fitting together snugly, leaving no openings larger than one thirty-second of an inch.
"Coffee cart" means a wheeled vehicle, propelled solely by human power and constructed in accordance with a design approved by the Department of Health, on which coffee is brewed and from which coffee and flavorings for coffee and permitted food products are served.
"Coffee cart vendor" means a person who dispenses coffee and flavorings for coffee from a coffee cart.
"Cold storage" means the storage of articles of food in cold storage establishments of any kind or nature, whether the same are public warehouses or not.
"Cold storage establishment" means a house or room used for the storage or preservation of food for a period of thirty (30) calendar days or more in which ice, refrigerating machinery or other artificial means of cooling are used.
"Commissary" means any duly licensed food establishment in which food, containers or supplies are stored, kept, handled, prepared, packaged and directly from which vending machines, mobile food vehicles or other food dispensing operations are serviced, and where mobile food vehicles are cleaned.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health of the City of Chicago, unless otherwise stated.
"Community garden" means a garden that meets the description and requirements of Section 17-9-0103.5 and subsection (1) of Section 17-17-0103-F of this Code.
"Confectionery manufacturer" means any person that shall engage in the business of manufacturing, for the purpose of selling to the wholesale or retail trade, any candies, confectionery, sugar ornaments, taffy apples, candied nuts, shelled nuts or peanuts, marzipan, chewing gum, lozenges, cough drops, fruit or flavored tablets, popcorn, popcorn candy, or any other candies, confectionery or similar products. The term shall also include any person engaged in manufacturing such products and supplying the same to branch or chain stores operated by such person.
"Contaminated" means exposed to contact with dust, dirt, insects, vermin, animals, promiscuous handling or other contaminants.
"Core item" shall have the meaning ascribed to that term by the FDA Food Code.
"Corrosion-resistant material" means a material which maintains its original characteristics under prolonged influence of the food, normal cleaning compounds and sanitizing solutions which may contact it.
"Department of Health" means the Department of Health of the City of Chicago, or its representatives.
"Easily cleanable" shall have the meaning ascribed to that term by the FDA Food Code.
"Employee" shall have the meaning ascribed to that term by the 2013 edition of the FDA Food Code, PB2013-110462, ISBN 978-1-935239-02-4.
"Equipment" shall have the meaning ascribed to that term by the FDA Food Code.
"FDA" means the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"FDA Food Code" means the most current version of the FDA Food Code, as adopted at 77 Ill. Adm. Code § 750.5.
"Flavorings for coffee" means cream, milk, sugar, other sweeteners, flavored oils and extracts, and spices.
"Food" shall have the meaning ascribed to that term by the FDA Food Code.
"Food-contact surfaces" shall have the meaning ascribed to that term by the FDA Food Code.
"Food dispensing" means the act of keeping, preparing or selling, offering for sale or distribution, for consumption on or off the premises, or in an enclosed or partially enclosed dining area adjacent to the enclosed food establishment, any articles of food and drink for human consumption.
"Food dispensing establishment" means any fixed location where food or drink is routinely prepared and served or provided for the public for consumption on or off the premises with or without charge. Such establishments include, but are not limited to, restaurants, coffee shops, cafeterias, short order cafes, luncheonettes, grills, tearooms, sandwich shops, soda fountains, taverns, bars, cocktail lounges, nightclubs, industrial feeding establishments, take-out establishments, private institutions or organizations routinely serving food, catering kitchens, commissaries or any other eating or drinking establishment or operation.
"Food processing plant" means a commercial operation that manufactures, packages, labels or stores food for human consumption and does not provide food directly to a consumer.
"Food safety operations" or "food safety requirements" means all practices involving sanitation; food storage; food preparation; use of time/temperature control for safety foods; food service; food handling by personnel; manual cleaning and sanitizing of multi-use eating and drinking utensils and equipment; plumbing and toilet and lavatory facilities; storage of garbage and rubbish; insect and vermin control; poisonous compounds; cleaning operations; outdoor maintenance; dressing rooms, lockers and other storage areas provided for use by shared kitchen users; and any other subject matter determined by the Department of Health to be relevant to food safety.
"Frozen dessert" means any frozen or partially frozen combination of two or more of the following which is intended for human consumption: i) milk or milk products, ii) egg or egg products, iii) sweeteners, iv) approved nonglycogenic substances, v) water fruit, vi) fruit juices, vii) candy, viii) nut meats, or other food products, natural and harmless artificial flavors, certified colors, citric acid or other types of harmless organic acids, approved stabilizers and food emulsifiers.
"Health authority" means the Chicago Department of Health or its designated representatives.
"Ice" means the product, in any form, obtained as a result of freezing by approved mechanical means, potable water from an approved source.
"Kitchenware" means all multi-use utensils, other than tableware, used in the storage, preparation, conveying or serving of food.
"Licensed premises" means any premises licensed or required to be licensed under this chapter.
"Local Health Protection Grant Rules" means the Local Health Protection Grant Rules, as amended, codified at 77 Ill. Adm. Code § 615.310.
"Milk" or "milk products" means the following: milk, cream, frozen cream, concentrated milk fat, fluid skimmed milk, sweetened and unsweetened evaporated skim milk, sweetened and unsweetened concentrated or condensed milk and skim milk, whey dry milk, nonfat dry milk solids, sweet cream, or any of these products from which lactose has been wholly or partially removed and any other product derived in whole or in part from milk as defined in the rules of the Department of Health or as may be approved and designated by the Department of Health, and any mixture of the aforementioned products.
"Misbranded" means the presence of any written, printed or graphic matter upon or accompanying food or containers of food which is false or misleading or which violates any applicable federal, state or local labeling requirements.
"Mix" means the unfrozen combination of all ingredients of a frozen dessert with or without fruits, fruit juices, candy, nut meats, flavor or color, in a fluid or semifluid state.
"Mobile food dispenser" means any person who, by traveling from place to place upon the public ways, serves previously prepared food that is enclosed or wrapped for sale in individual portions, coffee, other beverages or whole and uncooked fruits or vegetables from a wheeled vehicle.
"Mobile food vendor" means a mobile food dispenser, mobile food preparer, produce merchant, mobile prepared food vendor or mobile frozen desserts vendor.
"Mobile food preparer" means any person who, by traveling from place to place upon the public ways, prepares and serves food from a mobile food truck.
"Mobile food truck" means a motorized vehicle used to conduct a mobile food preparer business.
"Mobile food vehicle" means a motorized vehicle used (i) to conduct a mobile food dispenser, mobile food preparer or mobile frozen desserts vendor business; or (ii) by a charitable food vendor.
"Mobile frozen desserts vendor" means any person who, by traveling from place to place upon the public ways, serves from a two-wheeled or three-wheeled motorized or non-motorized vehicle, pushcart, or handcart individual portions of ice cream, ice milk, frozen dessert mix, sundaes or other frozen desserts that are totally enclosed in a wrapper or container and which have been manufactured, prepared or wrapped in a licensed food establishment.
"Mobile prepared food vendor" means any person who, by traveling from place to place upon the public ways, serves from a wheeled non-motorized vehicle, pushcart, or handcart individual portions of food, coffee or other beverages that are totally enclosed in a wrapper or container in individual portions and which have been manufactured, prepared or wrapped in a licensed food establishment for sale in individual portions.
"Owner" means the owner, operator, licensee or person in charge of any food establishment or vehicles used for the storage, transportation or vending of foods.
"Pasteurization" or "pasteurized" and similar terms mean the process of heating every particle of milk or milk products in equipment which is properly operated and approved by the Department of Health, to meet the requirements prescribed by Section 1 of the most current version of the FDA’s Pasteurized Milk Ordinance.
"Person" means any individual, group of individuals, firm, partnership, company, corporation, trustee, association, or any public or private entity.
"Person in charge" means the individual present in a food establishment who is the apparent supervisor of the establishment at the time of the inspection. If no individual is the apparent supervisor, then any employee present is in charge.
"Place for eating" means a retail food establishment that is subject to the Chicago Restaurant and Other Places for Eating Tax pursuant to Chapter 3-30.
"Plumbing facilities" means plumbing fixture, plumbing system, handwashing sink, warewashing sink, service sink, toilet, urinal, pipes, tanks, fittings, and other apparatus required for the water supply, heating, and sanitation in a building.
"Pop-up food establishment" means an establishment that: (1) operates on a short-term, temporary basis in a specific building or portion thereof; and (2) where food is made available, sold, prepared or served, in exchange for money or other valuable consideration, for consumption by the public or by invitees of any person holding or required to hold a pop-up food establishment user license under this chapter.
"Pop-up food establishment host license" means a license issued under Section 4-8-045.
"Pop-up food establishment user license" means a license issued under Section 4-8-044.
"Prepackaged and non-perishable food" means any food or beverage which is not capable of supporting rapid and progressive growth of microorganisms which may cause food infections; and which is packaged in a hermetically sealed container designed to keep the contents free of contamination by microorganisms and maintain the commercial sterility of its contents after thermal processing. The term shall include packaged candy, gum and confections and bottled or canned water or soft drinks, if the package, bottle or can includes a manufacturer’s quality assurance date. In no case shall the term include fresh or processed meats, poultry, seafood, dairy products, eggs, or fresh fruit and vegetables.
"Priority item" shall have the meaning ascribed to that term by the FDA Food Code.
"Priority foundation item" shall have the meaning ascribed to that term by the FDA Food Code.
"Produce" means whole and uncooked agricultural, plant-based items, including, but not limited to, fruits, vegetables, legumes, edible grains, nuts, spices, herbs and cut flowers.
"Produce merchant" means any person who sells produce outdoors from a produce stand that is in compliance with all applicable requirements of the Chicago Zoning Ordinance, including, but not limited to, any requirement prohibiting commercial sales within residential districts, and whose stand is (1) located on a private or public property with the written permission of the property owner, or located on the public way in connection with a valid public way use permit issued pursuant to Section 10-28-060 of this Code, and removed in its entirety from such private property or public way at the end of each business day; or (2) located on a private property or public property that contains a community garden or urban farm, with the written permission of the property owner.
"Produce stand" means a non-motorized free standing, temporary structure located on a private or public property or on the public way, from which a produce merchant sells produce.
"Retail" means selling directly to the consumer and not for resale.
"Retail food establishment" means any building, room, stand, enclosure, place or establishment occupied and used as a place of business for the purpose of serving, storing, selling, offering for sale or keeping with the intention of selling or distributing at retail any article of food, drink, confection or condiment, ultimately used for or intended to be used for human consumption. The term shall include, but not be limited to: restaurants, coffee shops, cafeterias, short order cafes, luncheonettes, grills, tearooms, sandwich shops, soda fountains, taverns, bars, cocktail lounges, nightclubs, industrial feeding establishments, take-out establishments, private institutions or organizations routinely serving food, catering kitchens, commissaries or any other eating or drinking establishment or operation, the automatic food-vending machine business, coffee cart vendors, candy manufacturers, confectioneries, fish markets, fruit and vegetable markets, grocery stores, meat markets, nut stores, dressed poultry markets or retail bakeries, bakery outlets or any similar place.
"Rules of the Department of Health" means rules adopted by the Commissioner or the Board of Health, as authorized in this Code, for the proper administration or enforcement of the provisions of this Code pertaining to the regulation of food establishments, including Chapters 4-8, 7-38, 7-40, and 7-42.
"Sanitized" means effective bactericidal treatment of clean surfaces of equipment and utensils by a process which has been approved by the Department of Health as being effective in destroying microorganisms, including pathogens.
"Seal" means a tag, stamp, seal, mark or other device affixed to any food by the Department of Health.
"Sealed" means free of cracks or other openings which permit the entry or passage of moisture.
"Self-service station" means an area dedicated to customers taking away single-use foodware and condiments.
"Sell" means to transfer or exchange for value, to expose or offer for sale or exchange, or to procure, store, keep or have on hand or in one’s possession or control for the purpose of selling.
"Serve" means the placing of such food for the convenience of the patron into any cup, glass, cone, dish, plate, single-service container or receptacle from which it may be conveniently consumed by the person.
"Serve food" or "serve" means to prepare, taste, handle, package, prepare for storage, or dispense food for human consumption.
"Service accommodation" means the seating place where one patron or customer to be served can be seated or, in lieu of seating space, two lineal feet of counter space which may be used or occupied by one patron or customer to be served while standing, provided that, for the purpose of computing the number of "service accommodations" at a counter where no fixed seats or stools are provided, each such counter shall be considered as a separate unit and any fractional part of two lineal feet at a side or end shall be excluded.
"Service animal" means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, as defined in Section 36.104 of the Americans with Disabilities Act Title III Regulations, codified at 28 C.F.R. § 36.104, and such other animal that meets the criteria set forth in Sections 36.302 and 35.136 of such Regulations, codified at 28 C.F.R. § 35.136 and 28 C.F.R. § 36.302.
"Shared kitchen" means (1) any establishment used as a place of business for the exclusive or primary purpose of utilizing, leasing or renting its kitchen space to individuals or entities for food preparation, temporary extra production capacity, menu planning, training, taste testing, product development, food packaging, food storage or any other food-related purpose; or (2) any retail or wholesale food establishment licensed or required to be licensed under this chapter that leases, rents or otherwise makes kitchen space available at such establishment for utilization by individuals or entities for food preparation, temporary extra production capacity, menu planning, training, taste testing, product development, food packaging, food storage or any other food-related purpose that is secondary or incidental to the establishment’s primary business activity of retail or wholesale food establishment.
"Shared kitchen long-term user" shall mean a shared kitchen user who utilizes, leases, or rents kitchen space at any licensed shared kitchen for 91 or more days within the applicable two-year license period.
"Shared kitchen short-term user" shall mean a shared kitchen user who utilizes, leases, or rents kitchen space at a shared kitchen for 90 or fewer consecutive calendar days.
"Shared kitchen user" or "user" means any person who utilizes, leases, or rents kitchen space at any shared kitchen licensed or required to be licensed under this chapter.
"Single-service articles" means cups, containers, lids or closures; plates, knives, forks, spoons, stirrers, paddles, straws, place mats, napkins, doilies, wrapping material, bags, and all similar articles which are constructed wholly or in part from paper, paper board, molded pulp, metal, wood, plastic, synthetic or other readily destructible materials, which are intended by the manufacturers and generally recognized as for one usage only, then to be discarded.
"Single-use foodware" means any eating utensil or other item to be used as part of food or beverage service that is designed and intended by the manufacturer for only one usage before being discarded, including forks, spoons, sporks, knifes, chopsticks, other eating utensils, stirrers, drink stoppers, splash sticks, cocktail sticks, toothpicks, napkins, wet-wipes, cup sleeves, beverage trays, disposable plates, and condiment packets. "Single-use foodware" does not include straws, beverage lids, or items used to contain or package food or beverages for delivery or take-out orders.
"Slaughtering, rending and packing establishment" means any place used for slaughtering animals for food, packing them for market, and cleaning the intestines thereof, or rendering offal, fat, bones, or scraps therefrom, or of any dead carcasses or animal matter whatever, or the manufacture or production of fertilizer, glue or soaps therefrom, or the manufacture of the same into fertilizing matter, or the changing the form thereof in any manner by the use of heat, steam, fire, chemicals, or otherwise.
"Special event" shall have the meaning ascribed to the term by Section 10-8-335.
"Tableware" means all multi-use eating and drinking utensils including flatware (knives, forks and spoons).
"Tier I pop-up food establishment" means a pop-up food establishment requiring a Tier I license under Section 4-8-044.
"Tier II pop-up food establishment" means a pop-up food establishment requiring a Tier II license under Section 4-8-044.
"Tier III pop-up food establishment" means a pop-up food establishment requiring a Tier III license under Section 4-8-044.
"Time/temperature control for safety food" shall have the meaning ascribed to that term by the FDA Food Code.
"Unwholesome" means the condition of any food which is diseased, decayed, emaciated, tainted, putrid, infected, poisoned, adulterated, contaminated, unclean or otherwise impure or unfit for human consumption or which contains any poisonous or deleterious or injurious ingredients in kind and quantities so as to render the food injurious or detrimental to health or which contains any uninspected meat, poultry, milk or their byproducts or which has been submerged in any solutions which are unclean, contaminated, putrid or spoiled.
"Urban farm" means a farm that meets the description and requirements of Sections 17-9-0103.3 and 17-17-0104-H of this Code.
"Utensil" shall have the meaning ascribed to that term by the FDA Food Code.
"Vending machine location" means the room, enclosure, space or area where one or more vending machines are installed and operated.
"Water-vending machine" means a device which treats and dispenses water, in specific amounts of not less than one gallon, for purchase.
"Wholesale" means the making of sales to the wholesale or retail trade for purposes of resale, including sales on a large scale to hotels, food dispensers, institutions, restaurants, manufacturers and wholesale food establishments, including such sales by brokers, manufacturers’ agents and itinerant vendors and the supplying of branch or chain establishments from a central depot or store.
"Wholesale food establishment" means any building, room, stand, enclosure, place or establishment used as a place of business for the preparation, manufacture, canning, baking, bottling, packing, distribution, storage, selling or offering for sale at wholesale any article of food, confection, condiment, drink or ice used or intended for human consumption, or any such article which is an ingredient of, used for, mixed with or which enters into the composition of any such food, confection, condiments, drink or ice. The term shall include cold storage establishments; confectionery manufacturers; slaughtering, rendering, and packing establishments; milk plants and wholesale milk distributors; frozen dessert plants and wholesale frozen dessert distributors; and wholesale itinerant food dealers. The term shall not include produce stands used in conjunction with and accessory to community gardens or urban farms.
"Wholesale itinerant food dealer" means any person not operating a regularly established store or warehouse for the merchandising of foods in the city, who shall, by traveling from place to place on or along the public ways of the city, deal, sell, offer for sale or deliver at wholesale from any vehicle any meat, produce, fruits, vegetables, garden produce, butter, eggs, cheese or any food item manufactured, packaged, bottled, processed or produced by a wholesale food manufacturer and intended for human consumption.
"Wholesome" means in sound condition, clean, free from adulteration, and otherwise suitable for use as human food.
(Added Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 6-10-96, p. 23652; Amend Coun. J. 9-29-04, p. 32144, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 1-11-07, p. 95881, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 5-4-11, p. 117699, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 7-6-11, p. 3023, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 16; Amend Coun. J. 6-6-12, p. 28654, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 7-25-12, p. 31326, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-8-12, p. 38872, § 77; Amend Coun. J. 11-26-13, p. 67481, Art. I, § 13; Amend Coun. J. 9-24-15, p. 6984, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 7-20-16, p. 28718, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 12-13-17, p. 63286, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 9-20-18, p. 84293, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 11-7-18, p. 88803, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 11-14-18, p. 90308, Art. II, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 9-14-21, p. 35529, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 3-23-22, p. 45620, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 6-21-23, p. 1515, § 1)