This textbook teaches the latest thinking in purchasing, guided by a review committee of food purchasing professionals from restaurants, hotels, and on-site/managed services organizations. The book focuses on value-added purchasing strategies and techniques that go beyond a basic product specification approach. Readers will learn how the purchasing control point is a vital element in the food distribution chain from the source and manufacturers to the guest at the table. It covers the latest in e-purchasing, addresses trends in purchasing and product, and features vital information on security, food safety, and ethics from both the distributor's and operator's perspectives.