2018 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 25 - Food
Article 1 - Food Service Sanitation
Section 25-1-2 - Definitions.

As used in the Food Service Sanitation Act:

A. "agency" or "division" means the department of environment;

B. "board" means the environmental improvement board;

C. "employee" means any individual employed in a food service establishment who transports food or food containers, who handles food during storage, preparation or serving, who comes in contact with any utensils or who is employed in a room in which food is stored, prepared or served;

D. "food" means any solid or liquid substance intended for human consumption by eating or drinking;

E. "general public" includes beneficiaries of governmental feeding programs and private charitable feeding programs and residents and employees of institutions that provide meals to their residents and employees either with or without direct payment to the institution by the residents or employees;

F. "temporary food service establishment" means a food service establishment that operates at a fixed location in conjunction with a single event or celebration for a short period of time not exceeding the event or celebration or not exceeding thirty days;

G. "person" means an individual or any other legal entity;

H. "food service establishment" means:

(1) any fixed or mobile place where food is served and sold for consumption on the premises;

(2) any fixed or mobile place where food is prepared for sale to or consumption by the general public either on or off the premises, including any place where food is manufactured for ultimate sale in a sealed original package, but "prepared" as used in this paragraph does not include the preparation of raw fruits, vegetables or pure honey for display and sale in a grocery store or similar operation. For purposes of this paragraph, "pure honey" means natural liquid or solid honey, extracted from the combs or in the comb, taken from beehives, with no processing or additional ingredients. "Food service establishment" does not mean a dairy establishment; and

(3) meat markets, whether or not operated in conjunction with a grocery store;

I. "utensil" means any implement used in the storage, preparation, transportation or service of food; and

J. "dairy establishment" means a milk processing or milk producing facility.

History: 1953 Comp., § 54-3A-2, enacted by Laws 1977, ch. 309, § 2; 1989, ch. 197, § 2; 1993, ch. 188, § 31; 1997, ch. 49, § 1.

The 1997 amendment, effective June 20, 1997, in Paragraph H(2), substituted "vegetables or pure honey" for "and vegetables" in the first sentence, and added the second sentence.

The 1993 amendments, effective June 18, 1993, substituted "department of environment" for "environmental improvement division of the health and environment department" in Subsection A; deleted "by the food service establishment" following "food is prepared" near the beginning and added "'Food service establishment' does not mean a dairy establishment" at the end of Subsection H(2); added Subsection J; and made a minor stylistic change.

The 1989 amendment, effective June 16, 1989, added the present catchline; rewrote Subsection A, which formerly read: " 'agency' means the environmental improvement agency"; rewrote Subsection F, which formerly read: " 'itinerant food service establishment' means a food service establishment operating for a temporary period of time"; and in Subsection H(2) inserted "by the food service establishment", and substituted "including any place where food is manufactured" for "but 'prepared' as used in this paragraph does not include food processing in which food is processed" and "but 'prepared' as used in this paragraph does not" for "nor does it".

Kitchen of state hospital deemed excluded. — Former statute (Section 54-3-1, 1953 Comp.) did not encompass state agencies under the circumstances where a hospital operated a kitchen, primarily to prepare food for patients, and kitchen personnel and other employees were allowed to eat meals prepared at the kitchen, and reimbursement was effected by the hospital, either through payroll deductions or meal tickets sold to the employees at approximate food cost; i.e., a "restaurant," as defined in the statute, was not involved. 1957-58 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 58-161 (opinion rendered under former law).