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Getting Health Department Approval for A Hot Dog Cart

By: Juan Calient


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Q: Do I need approval from the local Health Department government?

A: Affirmative. This is a standard specification before being allowed to operate your concession standyour food service business. Check with your local Health Department. Often, the information may be obtained by visiting your local officeApprise yourself of the health code provisions There may be an initial inspection fee on your cart.

Q: What does NSF certified mean and does my hot dog cart need it?

A: NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization that develops standards for food service equipment manufacturers and provides third-party conformity assessment services for these food service equipment manufacturers. The NSF has developed standards for American hot dog carts.

To have NSF certification means that NSF has assessed and certified the observance of the food concession paraphernalia with the correct NSF and ANSI (American National Standards Institute) requisites.

Part of the certifications process is to have the equipment creation factory audited yearly so as to ensure that all the proper requirements continue to be met.

For hot dog carts, this means that the parts used in construction are nontoxic, rust proof and heat resistant, and paint or chemicals are tested for durability and abrasion resistance. Furthermore, the food cart has demonstrated that it can reach and support proper temperatures for reheating food in required length of time. Also temperatures indicating devices used are verified for their proper reading. The hot dog carts of Willy Dogs come under NSF/ANSI Standard 59 for Food Carts.

The local sanitary regulations may require that your food concession cart must meet NSF standards. Or they may not. For some others, this is not a requirement. It is best that you review health codes from your county business office to ensure you meet the minimum standards set by law.

Food concession carts fall under NSF/ANSI Standard 59

Q: Can a hot dog cart offer meals such as chicken or ribs that are pre-cooked?

A: It depends , your local county Health Department may not permit this. Canadian and American food concession vendors follow very strict sanitary requirements. They may not allow vendor carts to serve what they classify as hazardous pre-cooked meats that often include pre-cooked chicken or pre-cooked pork ribs. Verify first with local sanitary guidelines prior to inclusion into your menu.

Q: May a food concession stand cook on site meat products and offer it to patrons?

A: This depends on the area where you will be operating. You need to verify with existing Health and Sanitation regulations as to the ordinances that may not allow this. The existing ordinances may not allow vendor carts to serve what they determine as hazardous uncooked meats. This definition often includes raw or frozen chicken, raw or frozen beef, raw or frozen pork, and ground meats. As discussed beforehand, Canadian and American hot dog carts often must observe very strict local guidelines. Check with your local Health Department first before planning to serve such items.

Q: What materials do I need to access on how to operate my Willy Dogs cart so comply with existing health and sanitary codes in my area?

A: The Operations Manual Section of this guide has advice in plain language on being able to comply with regulations of most sanitary and food regulations including washing and sanitizing the cart and in safely serving food. This is the basic process in order to keep your hot dog cart clean and in pristine condition. On top of this, each city or county health department will have their own set of rules that they will be provided for your benefit. Ask them for clarification if any parts are not clear to you. You need to be completely aware of these in order to be compliant with the regulations of the law.

Q: Does the cart have hot and cold running water?

A: Yes. Most of the carts are fully equipped with hot and cold running water. Find out the specifications for each individual food concession cart. Click on the image for each food concession cart for more details and specifications of items included with each food concession cart. Many food service regulations require hot and cold running water in hotdog carts. The hot water is to keep your food implements properly sanitized. The cold running water is for cleanliness purposes.

Furthermore, your wastewater must not just be thrown anywhere. In Willy Dogs hot dog carts, the wastewater is collected so it can be removed later and disposed appropriately. This is a mandatory requirement by many sanitation codes and must be observed to the letter.

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