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Letter Grades to be Considered for Food Trucks
Photo by Lucyrk in LA via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr
Photo by Lucyrk in LA via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr
As food trucks and carts gain a foothold in Southern California's political spectrum, Los Angeles County's Public Health Department is proposing to even the playing field, at least when it comes to letter grading. Restaurants currently have to display health inspection-based letter grades, but food trucks and carts do not. Currently, mobile food facilities, as the county calls trucks and carts, must be inspected and certified annually for structural and physical requirements. Another annual inspection looks at food handling, storage practices and facility hygiene. Under the proposed ordinance , inspections would increase to two inspections per year.
One group of food truck owners have already stated their support for the move. "The SoCal [Mobile Food Vendors Association] sees this as a positive step for the mobile food vending industry," the organization wrote on its blog. "Grades will help the public make informed decisions about what they eat, and dispel myths such as “those trucks aren’t regulated.”
Erin Glenn of Asociacion de Loncheros, another food truck group, also agreed, as long as enforcement remained fair and equitable like with restaurants, she told the LA Times.
The proposal (.pdf) was scheduled to be heard this week, but has been pushed to a future date.
Recently: Gold for the Defense: 'Let a thousand food trucks roll.'
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