Dangers inherent in the restoration Trucks and Street Vendors - Why they are at high risk of food poisoning What exactly is a catering truck? Although there are many names not so complementary or descriptions, and they can best be described simply as a restaurant kitchen on wheels, or a legal definition, a mechanism for mobile food preparation.
A catering truck can cook, handle open food and perform other types of food preparation normally only a restaurant could do so legally. They are different from ice cream trucks and candy, produce trucks and ice cream trucks and other vehicles that most sell only prepackaged foods and limited types of unpackaged foods.
Even if a catering truck is not technically the same as in a restaurant in the health and safety code requirements are almost the same as a permanent restaurant
I'll probably have hate mail for this, but I do not recommend the purchase or eat or prepared potentially hazardous food from a catering truck or street vendor, he was apparently under license and safely. The most that I bought a catering truck is prepackaged or drinks.
And here are my reasons:
- They are inherently more dangerous than a permanent restaurant simply because of space limitations and power of gas or electricity to keep refrigerators and heating equipment and working properly. There is more chance that the food is left too long in the food temperature danger zone between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit, which allows bacteria to grow to dangerous levels.
- There are more possibilities in a catering truck to cross-contamination of your food ready to eat with cold meats, chicken, again due to limited space and overstocking.
- A catering truck must maintain a storage tank of potable water (drinkable) water available throughout the day while they are away from their auditor (where they store and replenish their trucks). This offer is limited relative to the water supply of a permanent restaurant. This allows a greater probability that the catering truck will be short of water, or just as bad, the owner or operator to limit their use of it so that it can last longer during the day. The two cases are not rare and that means utensils do not wash, equipment, hands, etc., or often enough.
- The inspector rarely passes the same amount of quality time inspection of a catering truck for a permanent restaurant. This is mainly due to time factors. Many catering trucks do not spend very long in one place. The inspector shall make, observe, test and take notes, go out and write the report and then review with the owner or operator and get them signed before the catering truck leaves for the next stop. There is more pressure on everybody in this situation. This is unfortunate, but the reality of this business.
- Finally, the number of license suspensions do not reflect a good image for the restoration of trucks and street vendors. license suspension for all types of food establishments, means of closing and is almost always due to the presence of a high-risk violations, such as severe temperature abuse, vermin, etc. or operating without a valid public health.
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, Los Angeles County Environmental Health Vehicle Inspection Program conducted 9,615 routine inspections of catering trucks and street vendors. The number of license suspensions for this period was 2636 (the majority of trucks that have been catering). The closure rate is 27%, which means for every four inspections, one will result in closure. This does not include illegal or unpermitted trucks and carts, which are almost ubiquitous in the County of Los Angeles and are closed immediately when found.
To compare with restaurants: Los Angeles Co.
Posted on April 5, 2010.
