| As a hot dog street vending cart business owner, | | | | cart operator should attend a training course in safe |
| sooner or later you'll be confronted with issues that | | | | food handling and preparation. |
| directly affect the industry as a whole. Since this | | | | California Retail Food Code ("Cal Code") |
| business revolves around food and its proper handling | | | | Introduced in 2007, California Retail Food Code (also |
| and storage, it's no surprise that health and sanitation | | | | known as the "Cal Code") is the strictest and most |
| are the main issues that continues to define the way | | | | comprehensive set of laws governing the use of hot |
| you'll be doing business. | | | | dog street vending carts in the U. S. |
| Health and Sanitation | | | | The "Cal Code" mandates that hot dog cart operators |
| 1. Despite the fact that a hot dog cart can cook a | | | | must follow a strict operational procedure that includes |
| wide variety of food from its originally raw or fresh | | | | formal approved training in food safety. Under this |
| state, local health codes govern the kinds of food that | | | | framework, hot dog carts in California must also |
| can be sold from mobile food carts. This is usually | | | | operate from an approved commissary. |
| limited to reheating precooked wieners and sausages. | | | | A commissary is an approved restaurant, delicatessen, |
| 2. Health regulation tends to limit the kind of side dishes, | | | | grocery store, or other food facility that will provide a |
| condiments, and garnishes that can be sold from a | | | | safe, clean base of operations for the hot dog cart. At |
| mobile food cart. | | | | the commissary, the cart is to be cleaned, loaded with |
| 3. Health code regulations vary from state to state | | | | food and fresh water each day, drained of waste |
| and from county to county. This only adds to the | | | | water and emptied of unused food at day's end, and |
| confusion among hot dog cart vendors, manufacturers, | | | | then stored overnight. The commissary also provides |
| and suppliers. | | | | services such as storing and preparing foods for the |
| 4. Highly perishable meats such as pork and poultry | | | | hot dog cart operator. This would include chopping the |
| are prohibited from being sold in mobile food carts. | | | | vegetables such as onions and tomatoes being used |
| As a result, hot dog street vending carts are limited to | | | | as condiments. |
| reheating precooked sausages and served in buns | | | | The "Cal Code" specifies the list of facilities, equipment |
| with certain approved condiments such as mustard, | | | | and procedures that an approved commissary must |
| pickles, pickle relish, chopped onions, and tomato | | | | have in place. Preparing food in a private home for |
| ketchup. | | | | retail sale to the public is strictly forbidden by the "Cal |
| Health Code Regulations | | | | Code". |
| 1. Health code regulations are normally set by county | | | | The "Cal Code" also specifies the necessary |
| health departments and as a result, they vary from | | | | equipment that hot dog carts must have on board for |
| state to state and from county to county. | | | | legal operations. This mandatory equipment list includes |
| 2. This specified mandatory equipment could include | | | | 4 sinks for ware washing and hand washing, a large |
| hot and cold running water, an insulated ice box, and a | | | | volume of on board water and appropriate sized |
| number of separate sinks for washing hands and | | | | waste water tanks, a refrigerator for storing potentially |
| utensils. Some areas specify that a cart have as | | | | hazardous foods such as meats, thermometers for |
| many as four sinks. | | | | monitoring food temperatures, and sneeze guards to |
| 3. Local or state codes may also require that a cart be | | | | protect the food display and preparation areas of the |
| approved by a quality assurance agency such as the | | | | cart. This extensive equipment requirement guarantees |
| NSF (National Sanitation Foundation). In addition, local | | | | that any new hot dog cart legally operating in California |
| health codes may require the cart to be physically | | | | will have to be quite large and expensive compared to |
| inspected by the local health department and that a | | | | those in common use in other regions of the country. |