PIP: This article discusses approaches of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Healthy Cities Program (HCP) to create environments that are supportive to good health. Creation of healthy marketplaces is part of the HCP strategy. Marketplaces offer consumers low-cost fresh produce and other foods direct from the producers and ready-to-eat foods prepared by vendors. Marketplaces serve an important social role for exchanging ideas and information. These locations offer an opportunity for health education. Many marketplaces set a poor example with unsanitary conditions and unhygienic practices. A Joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)-WHO Expert Committee on Food Safety recommends drafting and enforcing food laws, provision of infrastructure and services, training and education of vendors, and increased consumer awareness. Hygiene should be equal to requirements for fixed facility retail stores. A Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system is a cost-effective method for assessing food safety and controlling health hazards. HACCP priorities take into consideration the physical and socioeconomic context and cultural characteristics of vendors and customers. A first step in ensuring food safety is the establishment of an organizational structure for implementing controls. Healthy marketplaces should include market administration, healthy sanitation and drainage, waste disposal, and education of food vendors and customers. The physical layout should provide the best conditions for preventing contamination.