Crystal Stevenson

With the abundance of food trucks in our area since the hurricanes, it has me wondering how they are regulated. Does the health department inspect them? We saw a lady selling gumbo off the tailgate of her truck. How sanitary can that be with the hordes of insects about?

The Louisiana Department of Health requires any mobile food establishments to be  approved through their office before operating.

As part of the permitting process, the owner has to describe the type of vehicle or trailer being used, days and times it will be in operation, anticipated number of meals that will be served each day, equipment that will be used to maintain proper food temperatures, where food will be stored, where pots and food containers will be sanitized, where the potable water supply connection will be … it’s actually a 12-page application.

Before that permit application is approved, however, the owner or employee who will be operating the food truck must be certified as a food safety manager for facilities preparing food in the state. The course to receive that certification takes eight hours.

After the food truck plans have been approved by the Department of Health, a preliminary inspection is scheduled with the sanitarian in the parish in which the food truck will be operating. A final permitting inspection will be conducted when construction is complete and all equipment is in place and functioning. This includes refrigeration, freezers, dish machines, chemicals used in cleaning and sanitizing, hot water, etc. The final permitting inspection should be scheduled at least five working days before the business’ anticipated opening date.

If, after the final permitting inspection, all requirements have been met, a State Health Department Permit to Operate will be issued and permit fees are then collected.

To access inspection reports completed in our region on both restaurants and food trucks, visit Eat Safe Louisiana, a Louisiana Health Department website, at http://ldh.la.gov/index.cfm/subhome/19.

As far as people selling food from the tailgate of their truck, residents can submit complaints to the Health Department online or by making a phone call. The Calcasieu number is 721-4060.

On a separate note, the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau maintains a list of food trucks in the area on their website — visitlakecharles.org — and on their downloadable Lake Charles Events App. Feel free to check those out if you want to find out where your favorite food truck is operating this week.

The Informer is written by American Press Executive Editor Crystal Stevenson. To ask a question, call 494-4098 and leave a voice mail, or email informer@americanpress.com.Food truck

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