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LA supervisors vote to give food trucks letter grades
Food trucks at KPCC's food truck event in the Crawford Family Forum, Tuesday, October 5, 2010.
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Gina Delvac & Anny Celsi/KPCC
)
Mobile food vendors and restaurants in Los Angeles County are a step closer to sharing the same grading system. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors tentatively approved an ordinance today that would require trucks to get and display A, B, or C inspection grades.
Catering truck operators won’t see any immediate fee increases. But L.A. County’s chief health officer Dr. Jonathan Fielding says his department may change that in a cost analysis.
“[We're] looking at 140 categories. And we’ll be coming back to the board in the near future with a suggested revised fee schedule. So, that will be part of what we’re looking at in addition to all the existing fees,” Fielding says.
Fielding spoke to L.A. County Supervisors at the hall of administration downtown. If the board gives final approval next week the ordinance will become law next month. Health officials plan to start rolling out the grading system early next year.
L.A. County has about 4,000 catering truck and about a quarter of them operate on expired health permits. Public health officials hope the grading process will bring them all into compliance. Most traditional and gourmet food truck operators support the change.
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