Operating a food truck isn’t as simple as buying the vehicle and food then parking.

Like any restaurant, the mobile food vendors need to be inspected. The vehicle itself needs to get approval from the state before getting the OK from county health services. It’s the latter that grants a registration sticker saying the food truck is approved to prepare and serve food. Often placed in the rear top corner on the left side of the vehicle, securing the round sticker can be held up by the smallest of detail.

“It’s all about the small details,” said Environmental Health Specialist AJ Sekhon.

Once a week, on Wednesdays, food trucks are able to drop in to get inspections by the San Mateo County Environmental Health Department. Requirements are different for trucks in which food is prepared — like a taco truck — compared to one from which food is simply served, like an ice cream truck. Those that are prepped to prepare and serve food must meet multiple requirements similar to a restaurant.

For example, there needs to be hot water at a certain temperature, a commercial refrigerator with a fan is required and fire sprinklers must be installed.

The process can be time consuming.

Redwood City resident Paulette Elliott, one of the owners of Ciao Bella, knows all about the long process. On Wednesday, her restaurant, which is inside a trailer, was getting the final approval. Starting the business has taken about a year.

First there was finding a concept, then a truck (or in this case a trailer) — a distinctive difference that Elliott liked. She settled on a 20-foot trailer which was ordered from Arkansas and outfitted to look like a cable car. With about a 4-foot deck at the end, the trailer restaurant also has lots of windows.

“I like going to restaurants where you can see the food being prepared,” said Elliott, who brought that same feel to her business which will feature Italian and British food.

It’s been a learning process for Elliott. Building a mobile business required different types of insurance. Since the trailer needs to be attached to a vehicle, the vehicle also needs insurance. The type of refrigerator Elliott originally had needed to be replaced to include a fan.

After getting approved, Elliott still had lots to do. She needs to chat with each city in which she’d like to work and learn the rules. Cities have different regulations about food trucks parking and for how long they can remain in one location. Despite the work, she’s excited to get started and hopes to be a regular on the local scene soon.

For the Environmental Health Department, the demand for checking mobile vehicles has risen 10 percent in the last year, said Director of Environmental Health Dean Peterson. Registrations are updated annually in February. Those who get a permit mid-year are given a prorated cost. Physical inspections occur at least once a year. Random checks, which the department often does in restaurants, are the big challenge.

Mobile trucks aren’t exactly in one place at any given time making seeing the truck in action tricky. Planned events with a number of food trucks often offers an opportunity to get a first look and watch employees in action, said Peterson.

For more, check out: http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=165635&title=Before%20firing%20up%20the%20grill,%20approval%20needed

Outback Steakhouse, which prides itself on an Australian-themed atmosphere and high standards, recently had a setback at its Canton location during a food service inspection.

Repeat violations – which weigh heavier than new ones – helped to knock its score from a 90 (A) in January to a 74 (C), which is five points from an unsatisfactory score. The restaurant was cited for its dishwashing machine’s final rinse cycle not reaching a proper temperature at the manifold. Until the repair is made, the restaurant implemented a sanitizing measure immediately, the inspector wrote. Meanwhile, other repeat infractions include issues with the bathroom doors and food-contact surfaces.

Joe Kadow, executive vice president of Outback Steakhouse, expressed apologies to customers in a written statement.

“Food safety is our highest priority at Outback Steakhouse. For more than 20 years we have been committed to operating our restaurants with the highest standards,” he wrote.

Kadow emphasized that conditions and procedures at its 3 Reinhardt College Parkway location will rebound to proper levels.

“We have devoted all necessary personnel and resources to re-train all of our staff on our operating and safety procedures. All of the issues were either corrected on site or shortly following the inspection,” he wrote.

Items corrected on site include not handling foods with bare hands, properly storing a blender and ensuring that the wiping cloth sanitizing solution is at the correct strength.

Kadow also wrote: “We are also implementing procedures to ensure that our staff receives training on an ongoing basis. We … will work closely with the Cherokee County Health Department to achieve this goal,” he wrote.

For more, check out: http://blogs.ajc.com/food-and-more/2011/08/18/restaurant-inspectons-outback-steakhouse/

Restaurant-grading systems have been in place in Los Angeles County for a decade and in New York City for the past year. Pittsburgh’s foray into using a similar letter-grading system for health inspections, however, is on hold.

It’s a collision of state regulations versus county food code. The Allegheny County Health Department has tabled the proposal, which would require all county restaurants to post their inspection scores directly on their doors immediately following their annual inspection. The vote was delayed to ensure the system complies with state law, Act 106, on restaurant inspections. The proposed rating system was based on the county’s food code; if the health board decides to adopt the system, regulations would have to be rewritten to comply with the new state code, which has no restaurant rating system.

Last year, the state legislature updated the state food-safety law, basing it on Food and Drug Administration standards, which are more up-to-date and detailed than Allegheny County’s food code. For example, the state code requires cut vegetables be refrigerated and requires gloves for food workers in contact with ready-to-eat food. The proposed restaurant rating system, which would give restaurants a letter grade, a numerical score or both, would need the approval of the Board of Health and Allegheny County Council. The proposed system is opposed by the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association.

For more, check out: http://www.fermag.com/news/late-breaking/single-article/restaurant-grades-still-on-hold-in-pittsburgh/5be308e331.html

GREENWICH VILLAGE — More than a year after the city first required restaurants to post Health Department inspection grades, some owners of Greenwich Village eateries are doing their best to hide less than perfect ratings.

Famous Ray’s Pizza of Greenwich Village racked up 54 violation points in a June 7 health inspection, but its posted C grade — the lowest mark a restaurant can get without being shut down — was nearly impossible to see when DNAinfo looked for it last week.

Only a pale outline of a C, which is usually bright gold, was visible at the Sixth Avenue pizzeria, at 11th Street.

“Why does it matter?” a Famous Ray’s manager who would not identify himself said by phone when DNAinfo called to ask why the sign wasn’t clearer.

Health Department rules require grade signs to be posted “on a front window, door or outside wall where it is easily seen by people passing by.” The card must be placed within five feet of the entrance, from four to six feet off the ground.

The pizza joint was inspected again Aug. 11 and received 26 violation points — which earns it a B grade.

However, its offenses include “evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas,” according to city Health Department restaurant inspection data.

At the Subway sandwich shop at 315 Sixth Avenue, DNAinfo noticed on Aug. 8 that its C grade was posted on an easy-to-miss side window, between bright promotional signs.

Subway moved the sign to the shop’s door after a reporter pointed out its placement.

“We have moved it. Thanks for letting us know,” manager Mohammed Mazar said when asked to comment on the sign.

The sandwich shop was cited for evidence of mice, improper sanitation of food preparation surfaces and not keeping cold foods cold enough, records show.

Around the corner, Brazilian restaurant berimbau had its B grade posted about a foot off the ground — violating the easily visible rule.

But manager Mario Espindola didn’t seem to think there was an issue.

“You have to post it, so we posted it,” he said.

Inspectors found evidence of mice and unsanitary wiping cloths at berimbau.

A few doors down, sandwich shop The Grey Dog had its B grade posted on a folding glass door, more than 10 feet away from the entrance. Inspectors found evidence of mice there, too.

Co-owner Peter Adrian said he thought he had been following the rules.

“I think it’s pretty conspicuous,” he said. “We have been inspected since [we posted it] and they haven’t commented on it.”

The Health Department has issued 123 violations to restaurants that did not place grade signs in the required locations, according to a department report on the first year of the grading system.

Rule-breakers can be fined as much as $1,000 for a first offense and greater fines for repeat offenses, a Department of Health spokeswoman said.

Nearly 90 percent of New Yorkers surveyed in July by Baruch College said they considered restaurant grades when deciding where to eat.

Complaints about restaurants can be reported by calling 311.

Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/20110815/greenwich-village-soho/poor-health-grades-hidden-by-some-west-village-restaurants-dnainfo-finds#ixzz1WX070ATe

More than a year after New york City first required restaurants to post Health Department inspection grades, some owners of Greenwich Village eateries are doing their best to hide less than perfect ratings.

Andrea Swalec of DNAinfo writes that Famous Ray’s Pizza of Greenwich Village racked up 54 violation points in a June 7 health inspection, but its posted C grade — the lowest mark a restaurant can get without being shut down — was nearly impossible to see when DNAinfo looked for it last week.

Only a pale outline of a C, which is usually bright gold, was visible at the Sixth Avenue pizza at 11th street.

“Why does it matter?” a Famous Ray’s manager who would not identify himself said by phone when DNAinfo called to ask why the sign wasn’t clearer.

Health Department rules require grade signs to be posted “on a front window, door or outside wall where it is easily seen by people passing by.” The card must be placed within five feet of the entrance, from four to six feet off the ground.

The pizza joint was inspected again Aug. 11 and received 26 violation points — which earns it a B grade.

However, its offenses include “evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas,” according to city Health Department restaurant inspection data.

At the Subway sandwich shop at 315 Sixth Avenue, DNAinfo noticed on Aug. 8 that its C grade was posted on an easy-to-miss side window, between bright promotional signs.

Subway moved the sign to the shop’s door after a reporter pointed out its placement. “We have moved it. Thanks for letting us know,” manager Mohammed Mazar said when asked to comment on the sign.

For more, check out: http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/149988/11/08/15/lousy-restaurant-grade-hide-it-don%E2%80%99t-get-caught

At a time when foodborne outbreaks are in the headlines, a restaurant’s health score may seem even more important than its reviews. A big C on the front door won’t exactly whet the appetite, but an A gives you a sense of security.

Cleanliness matters. A single rag dripping with E. coli bacteria could ruin a beef Wellington, and it only takes one unwashed hand to turn pasta primavera into a norovirus surprise.

Restaurant inspections have definitely helped prevent outbreaks across the country, says food safety expert Margaret Binkley, an assistant professor in the department of consumer sciences at Ohio State University in Columbus. But the grades hanging in the window — or even a full report on public health websites — offer only a vague glimpse of the real risk of foodborne illness, Binkley says. “These places are often open 365 days a year, 12 hours a day,” she says. “A two-hour inspection is only going to be a very small snapshot.”

And snapshots can be misleading: You can’t know what’s happening at a restaurant on any particular day. Just one example: A Pakistani restaurant in the greater L.A. area that we won’t name has an A rating now, and, according to the Los Angeles Department of Public Health database (www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/rating), it has a recent history of sailing through inspections with high marks. But the department also reports that the restaurant had to be shut down for three days in May for “vermin infestation” and an undefined “imminent health hazard to public health or safety.”

Likewise, a popular martini bar in Los Angeles that has an A rating now had to be shut down for three days in June for a major cockroach infestation and “gross contamination of utensils/equipment.”

Out of necessity, inspectors tend to focus on things that can be easily checked, such as the temperature of a walk-in fridge, the cleanliness of the floors and countertops or whether cockroaches and mice have set up shop in the pantry. But these factors may not have much to do with actual diseases, says Benjamin Chapman, a food safety specialist at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. “You can’t look at an inspection report and know how likely you are to get sick,” he says.

Chapman says he would want to know one thing about a restaurant — and it’s not the health score. “I want to know whether workers are washing their hands.”

For more, check out: http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-restaurant-grades-20110815,0,7158400.story