LA approves inspection ratings for food trucks
Posted at 11:37 AM on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010
By JOHN ROGERS – Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES Hungry Southern Californians will soon learn if their favorite food truck makes the grade, after Los Angeles County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to assign them the same health-board ratings that brick-and-mortar restaurants receive.
The vote gives county health inspectors the authority to conduct surprise visits to the trucks twice a year and give them A, B or C ratings, just as they do now with restaurants. Truckers must post their grades prominently for customers to see, just as restaurants do.
The new law takes effect in 30 days.
Among its supporters were many food-wagon vendors who say they believe it will give people more confidence in the cleanliness of their operations.
“I’m itching to get our grades on our trucks and quiet the skeptics that think we’re somehow unregulated,” Matt Geller, chief executive officer of the Southern California Mobile Food Vendors Association, has said.
Food trucks are already supposed to be inspected twice a year, once at the commissary where they are parked for cleaning and once in the field.
But they don’t receive letter grades, and county health inspectors have said it’s sometimes hard to locate them in the field. Under the new law, they’ll have to provide schedules.
Dr. Jonathan Fielding, head of the Los Angeles County Health Department, said the explosive popularity of the trucks led officials to push for the new regulations.
More than 4,000 food trucks, selling everything from spicy Korean-barbecue tacos to sweet crepes to vegetarian hot dogs, are licensed to operate in the county. They will be subject to the inspections, as will thousands of pushcarts and other smaller chow wagons.
Fielding has said the new regulation won’t result in an increase in fees for the trucks for at least the first year.
-end of article-
*************************
So far Los Angeles is the only city I know of that has this requirement, but what if your county decided to enact the same regulation?
We all know that there are a certain percentage of sales that we lose every day simply because some people have doubts about the cleanliness of mobile food vendors in general.
I personally think that having your health rating prominently displayed will go a long way toward bringing new customers to your businesses, not to mention helping to legitimize our industry as a whole.
The downside is that more government intervention usually means more red tape and fees (let’s call them what they are, “taxes in disguise”).
What do you think? Are public inspection ratings good or bad? Let’s hear your opinion in the comments…
-Steve
original article at Fresnobee.com via HDCN reader Rob Lessnick – Thanks Rob!
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Steve,
Check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1-xkmS566Y
I have to agree with Steve. I do think it will give the public more confidence in carts.
Besides fees/taxes, another down-side could be providing a schedule. Maybe if they had a system similar to Twitter where carts could report their locations…just a thought…but NO GPS’s! Too much government!
Carts cook the food in front of the customer so they can see the grill. Traditional restaurants never usually cook in front of the customer which allows the cook to use many unhealthy practices. I think its just more revenue for the govt. Many restaurants have complained about mobile food vendors taking their bizness. I say if your food is good you don’t have to worry about loosing customers. schedules too. NOT.
Lets face it, most vendors want their business to be clean, sparkling, and tasty as it gets.
Nobody want’s to holler “rotten fish” from their wagon.
Yes, the public should be protected, but I think this is just another way for local government to extract more money from their “golden goose”
Whatever.
Let’s see, the government more involved??
The postal service, social ‘Security’, Wall Street, Oh yea, I feel better………………!!!
By no means am I a proponent of more government regulations/fees/taxes and anything else that comes with the bureaucratic process to govern the requirements … however, I can certainly understand why. As I’m sure most everyone here does, we take great pride in every aspect our operation especially when it comes to cleanliness. And of course there is a “but” to this … how many times have you been set up at a festival next to someone that didn’t share your same cleanliness standards and wondered how they can be allowed to operate … these are the people that are the exceptions to the norm that ultimately results in big brother stepping in and impacting all of us. If only there was a way to weed out these few ….
I think regualtions are a great way to show the general public that we ARE professional cooks and that we can “take the heat” so to speak. I am a real germ-a-phobe and I clean and clean all day, and my customers know this.
Bring ‘em on, I say. I challenge them to find anything dirty on my cart besides the tires.
Wanda. Owner, Dixie Kitchen
I for one feel its a great idea, too many carts and trucks I see do not even wear gloves etc… at least this way the public will see how clean the cart or truck is.
Ive already had a guy come up to me while taking his order, I went to put my gloves on and the guy said to me, hey son there is no need to wear those, I told him sorry its the law I must wear them. he commented good thing you said that Im one of the inspectors.
Tony
This has been the norm in Washington State for quite some time, from the on-site inspections of our cart to the commissary that we use. If you make multiple stops, you must provide a schedule. As for grades, the State has a site set up so that any restaurant can be checked out to see their inspections and their ratings. This includes all mobile vendors. Check out this site;
http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/ehs/foodsafety/inspections.aspx. All you need is the vendor business name, and all past and current inspections can be viewed – with their scores/ratings. And yes, there are additional fees & permits associated with this “service” the state provides.
The costumers see your cart, they see the food, and they watch you prepare the food. You have to keep things clean and in order. I know of a local “Mickey D’s” that let the employees handle everything with their bare hands. No gloves, no tongs. Can you imagine serving someone in that manner from your cart. We pay too much fees and taxes already. No more please.
Hey Steve:
I’m a Northern California native (dont feel sorry for me lol). Both NorCal and SoCal have a VERY large population of food vendors, both carts and trucks of many ethnic palettes. in which some if not many operate without the required city/state permits or licenses in addition to operating outside the health department guidelines. Obviously this makes it very difficult for those who do operate within the guidelines.
This is just a nature of the beast out there Steve, and is and has been a very politically sensitive topic for many years due to the demographic make-up in both regions.
Tough part Steve, is that food vendors has always been somewhat of a culture or tradition if you will in both regions ( i.e taco trucks, hot dog carts, ice cream trucks, etc) and all actually serve pretty good food. I know both regions of CA are very difficult to operate in due to the cost of the required fees, state taxes, permits, in addition to the very stringent and confusing health requirements. Being in local goverment in NorCal for 25 years, I saw this first hand. This has been a problem for many years there, but you just don’t here about it because typically some of the very people who do this enforcement frequent some of these establishments for lunch.
From my experience, and what im reading, it sounds like this is somewhat of a subtle/politically correct way of telling those operating illegally that they’re now tracking them and increasing the enforcement of illegal operators. Hope this is somewhat useful insight to your readers Steve as I could go on and on.
Matt
I think it’s a great idea, It will add that mental stamp of approval to those hesitant customers that wonder if it’s safe eating off our carts. As long as there isn’t any fees that come along with it.
In my area we already have to display our restaurant license and health inspection prominently on the cart. Having a large “A” beside it would be another source of pride for me. Both at festivals and at my daily location, customers continually comment on the cleanliness of my operation.
I believe we should hold ourselves to a higher standard to show the public we are not “dirty” or any less caring than the finest brick and mortar restaurant in town. Fact is, a lot of restaurant kitchens are MUCH dirtier than our carts will ever be. They just can’t be seen by the public!
i just love my elected officials getting involved with my business. its not like they have serious problems that they are currently handling. as for california, do i need to say anything else
If their was something you could do about it, I would be the first in line. But unfortunately It will be shoved down all of are throats and we will have to eat it. All the restaurants probably got together and wined that its not fair. So get ready to comply and shave off your bottom line.
I think ratings are a good thing. What I would like to see, at least in Florida, is more flexibility in what we’re allowed to serve – and hold us to those standards.
The new law was brought about not so much by the popularity of the vendors but by the furor of them parking close to upscale restaurants. Los Angeles is broke. It has no money or man power to police the vendors that are blanketing the city. I have personally seen people selling tacos out of shopping carts with camp stoves. This move was purely political.
There will always be the bad apples that spoil the barrel and unless we govern our own industry from within, the health departments are bound by their mandate to intervene and control for the safety of the public.
Although the best thing about being independent is the feeling of freedom and autonomy, there is also a negative aspect to being on your own.
No one is looking out for you.
I have approached a few independent operators in my area with the idea of forming a guild or association to combine our resources. Currently, most are pretty satisfied with being on their own but would appreciate the benefits a group designated to advocate on their behalf regarding issues surrounding by-laws and restrictions.
Ratings can be great or they can be biased depending on the type of day the inspector is having. There are too many variables to ensure that there would be fairness in this system unless it was composed of industry experts and our peers.
It is my belief that if we were to form regional support groups for operators, we could benefit in several ways. Group business and liability insurance, community commissaries, bulk price discounts on supplies, advertising and marketing discounts, networking, Group Medicare, medical insurance coverage, etc.
From my experience, such associations work well when they’re operated using the “rule by consensus” method which tends to eliminate the usual mess which can occur with Robert’s rule of order.
Regardless, the benefits of forming an alliance would establish our industry in a way that would allow our voice to grow very powerfully, very quickly.
For all of you northerners who are interested, send me an email.
I have strong feelings regarding this topic and I’ll keep them brief. Steve has pointed this out before; people do inspect and watch how clean you keep your cart, truck or trailer. I have had people comment that they notice I’m always cleaning up. On one field inspection, I just so happened to be scrubbing down with Clorox cleaner when the inspector walked up on me. That went very well. Since starting my business I am very observant of other vendors and welcome the day when we start getting graded. Some of my competitors will be less competition.
This has been the law here in Charleston SC for quite sometime. My new cart has an “A” rating.
Every day I open Our cart I expect to be inspected and i have been. always passed don.t worry Just keep it clean
Jim 7 Kay
We currently have to be inspected by the health Department and we also have to be Serve Safe Certified and we are graded just like resturants. I do think that it helps because of the comments from my customers who say, “You have to have a health inspection, wow you got a 97, that makes me feel good”…. People do notice and it has helped my business. People do see that you are clean and use gloves and will comment about people who don’t!! When you have the same people eat at your cart week after week and everytime they find that you are set up you will understand what I am talking about… People talk and when you here “Oh, you are the hotdog guy, I heard that you have the best hotdogs in town” You will understand why it is easy to put up with the rules….Set up in a small town and you will find out that people talk good or bad.. but Good works better….
Duggs Doggs
Good!! Good!!
Bad time to ask me this question. I’m not feeling very positive about local governments as the town D.O.T. has been doing road construction near our “Hot Dog Joint” and it’s destroying our business.
Having said that, weeding out the less sanitary can only help the image of those that are trying to keep their customers safe.
Also, if people wouldn’t mind…check out our new website. We launched today. I’d love you feedback.
http://www.yanksfranks.com
Thanks Steve.
I ask my Health Department earilier in the season about this topic – unfortunately they do not issue grades for display to mobile venders.
My operation averages a 97% for the season and I have been inspected 5 times this season not counting festibles.
There are 19 other Hot Dog vendors in my area and I wouldn’t let my dog eat at 11 of them, not sure how they stay in business.
So PLEASE bring on the grading card display system and mandate displaying your grade.
As far as just another tax – Make sure to Vote November 2nd and make it count.
I don’t understand. In Tennessee we have the same inspection as a brick and mortar. We get inspected twice a year and random surprise inspections. We have to have our inspection report in plain site where it can be seen at all times. I thought this was the norm. Do you guys not have to do this already?
Ive been in the business of leasing dishmachines for 13 years we have alot i would eat at 5% of those. most vending carts ive seen are wayyyy cleaner … steve if you ever start a what i saw in a kitchen i can make you not eat out again …go dog carts still trying to get there yall keep my dream alive
as a Californian I think we have enough regulation and every customer that has a doubt from a distance will have a change of heart when they see how sparkly our cart is and how hot our dogs are .