United States
Hong KongSingle-use items: stored, handled and never reused
Single-use and single-service articles are used once and discarded. They are stored in the original package or a covered container, off the floor, and handled by the surface that will not touch food or a customer's mouth.
Cups, lids, straws, cutlery, takeaway containers, deli tissue, gloves, paper doilies. Used once. That is the definition, and the interesting part is what "once" rules out.
Storage
- In the original protective packaging, or in a clean covered container.
- At least 15 cm (6 inches) off the floor.
- In a clean, dry location, away from splash and dust.
- Not under exposed sewer or water lines.
- Away from chemicals - which is the same directional rule as food.
Single-use items are treated as food throughout the Code, which is the shortcut worth carrying. Wherever a rule protects food, it protects these too.
Handling
By the part that will not contact food or a mouth.
Cups by the base or the outside, never with fingers inside the rim. Cutlery by the handle. Cutlery presented handle-first to the customer, and stored handle-up in a cylinder.
Straws wrapped or dispensed. Lids stacked so the food side faces down onto the stack rather than up towards whatever falls.
Someone carrying four cups with a finger inside each rim is the version of this violation everyone has seen. The fingers touch exactly where the customer's mouth will go, and the question writes itself.
Reuse
Single-use containers are not washed and refilled. The material is not designed for warewashing, it degrades, and it develops scratches that hold soil and cannot be cleaned.
That includes reusing a takeaway container for storage in the kitchen, which is common and is a violation for the same reason.
The customer refill question
A customer refilling their own take-away beverage cup is permitted under specific conditions: the cup is designed for reuse, it is refilled by an employee or through a dispenser that avoids contact, and the establishment has a cleaning procedure.
A disposable cup refilled at a self-service fountain is a different case, and jurisdictions vary. It is worth knowing that the Code addresses returnables at all, because most people assume it does not.
Gloves
Single-use gloves are exactly that. Not washed, not sanitized, not turned inside out and reused.
They are stored like any other single-use article - protected, off the floor, away from chemicals - and that is a detail inspectors check more often than kitchens expect.
Common questions
What counts as a single-use item?
Cups, lids, straws, cutlery, takeaway containers, deli tissue, gloves and paper doilies - anything designed to be used once and discarded.
How should disposable cups be handled?
By the base or the outside, never with fingers inside the rim, which is where the customer's mouth goes. Cutlery is handled by the handle and presented handle-first.
Can you reuse takeaway containers for storage?
No. The material is not designed for warewashing, it degrades, and it develops scratches that hold soil and cannot be cleaned. That applies to kitchen storage as well as to customers.
Can customers refill their own cups?
Under specific conditions - a cup designed for reuse, refilled by an employee or through a dispenser that avoids contact, with a cleaning procedure in place. Jurisdictions vary on disposable cups at self-service fountains.
How should single-use items be stored?
In original packaging or a clean covered container, at least 15 cm (6 inches) off the floor, in a dry location away from splash, chemicals and exposed plumbing. They are treated as food throughout the Code.