Mobile Food Establishments

Download the Mobile Food Requirements Handbook

Food Establishment: A business that stores, makes, serves, or otherwise provides food for people to eat. The city ordinance allows civil, fraternal and religious organizations, as well as schools, to operate without paying a fee, but a permit is still required.

Food Preparation: The act of making food by adding ingredients, seasonings, or sauces together or to a main dish. This also includes cooking food, cutting food, storing and handling food with temperature control or time control.

Potentially Hazardous Food/Non-Potentially Hazardous Food: A potentially hazardous food is any food that can grow bacteria to make people sick. A non-potentially hazardous food is a food that makes it difficult for bacteria to grow.

Mobile Food Establishment (MFE): A food service business that sells food from a movable vehicle (like a truck), a portable structure with wheels (like a trailer with wheels), or a pushcart.

Temperature control: Using temperature to keep bacteria from growing in food. Cold food should be kept at 41º F or below, and hot food should be kept at 135º F or above.

Time Control: When you do not use temperature control, you can use time control to keep food outside of those temperatures for up to four hours. After that, it must be thrown away. This requires an approved written procedure.

Download the Mobile Food Requirements Handbook

Springfield-Greene County Health uses the Missouri Food Code and will use this code when inspecting mobile food establishments. Permits are required before food preparation can start. Nobody can operate a mobile food establishment and serve food to the public without a food permit from Springfield-Greene County Health. When you are planning for your mobile food establishment, it is important to consider the following items, as they may be required to get your food permit:

Standard Operating Procedures

• You are required to have policies for the following items:
• Cleaning schedule
• Employee health and calling in sick
• Checking temperatures of food
• Checking to make sure equipment is working
• Other information you think your staff may need

Questions to Ask Yourself

• What will be on your menu?
• Where are you planning to cook?
• Where will you store the truck or cart when you are not using it?
• Where will you get water?
• Where will you throw away trash?
• Where will you dump out wastewater?
• Do you need a grease trap?
• Where will you set up?
• Where will you get power?

These are all questions that your health inspector may ask you, so it is important to be prepared to answer them.

The next step is to submit your application for a Food Establishment Permit. This will include the Food Establishment Permit Application and the Mobile Food Establishment Addendum. Both forms gather information that help us decide how many times you'll be inspected per year.

If you’re thinking about doing something that may require a variance or a hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) plan, you’ll want to talk to your inspector. These things can’t be done on a food truck, and you will need a service area to do them. You’ll also need approval from the health department. 

Before you get your permit, you’ll have to go through a preoperational inspection. When this happens, an inspector will contact you and you will be asked to bring your truck to the health department so that we can walk through it and decide if it is ready to be approved. This inspection may also have someone from the Fire Department and Clean Water Services there. Both of these departments may have separate requirements, so it is very important that you contact them before your inspection. You may have to go through more than one preoperational inspection, so make sure you allow plenty of time before your first event.

You will be able to set your establishment up wherever it’s allowed. To find out where you can set up, you must contact planning and zoning in the county (if you’ll be outside city limits). If in city limits, you’ll have to contact that city (including Springfield) to find out where you can set up. 

Download the Mobile Food Requirements Handbook

You may be required to have a servicing area. This servicing area has to follow the Food Code, as well as any other regulations that apply to it. You’ll have to submit the service area’s food permit and most recent inspection report with your application. If you don’t own the service area (if it’s not your restaurant or business), then you’ll also need to give us a copy of your agreement with them.

If you’re not going to be in Springfield city limits, you must have a servicing area agreement for a restroom during the time you will be open. The restroom must be within 500 feet of your establishment, and on the same side of the road. You’ll need to submit this agreement to the health department.

Other requirements for a servicing area:

• It has to be an actual building—not another food truck or a temporary establishment.
• It has to meet zoning laws for where it’s located.
• It can provide a variety of services: storage, food preparation areas, water supply, plumbing and trash disposal, cleaning area for dishes, etc.
• It has to be big enough to operate on its own, along with being a servicing area.
• Clean Water Services may have other requirements.
• It can be as small as just a storage area, or as big as a permitted catering kitchen, depending on what you need.

Note: If you are going to take your mobile unit to a fair, carnival, or other temporary event where you can’t go back to your servicing area, you’ll need to meet the requirements for a temporary food setup as well.

For Pushcarts

Service area must be a permitted food establishment that has an area to clean and service the pushcart. This area needs to be separate from other food preparation areas. The service area must have drinking water available, as well as a place to drain and dispose of wastewater. It must also have a place to wash dishes, store food, and do food preparation. You must return the pushcart to the servicing area every night.

Download the Mobile Food Requirements Handbook

Dishwashing: All utensils and equipment must be washed in a 3 compartment sink or commercial dishwasher. If you can’t wash these items on board, you must have enough to change them every 4 hours, and you must have a service area to wash everything.

Doors and windows: Your doors must be tight-fitting enough to not let mice or other pests in. Windows must have screens to keep flies out.

Equipment: All equipment should be easy to clean and kept in good working order. If equipment is made of metal, it shouldn’t have any rust. If it does, it needs to be replaced or refinished. If you have any wood surfaces, they must be finished so they can be washed. Any equipment that can’t be easily moved should be installed so that you can clean underneath it or behind it.

Hot water: You must have enough hot water to meet peak demands (the most you could need) for washing your hands, washing dishes, and other operations. Make sure to consider this when deciding on a system.

Lighting: You must have enough light in your unit. The exact requirements can be found in the food code. All lightbulbs must be shielded or resistant to breaking.

Pest Control: All doors and windows must be protected to keep bugs, rodents, and weather from getting in. If you’re doing any food preparation outside, you must prevent contamination as well.

Power Source: You must have an appropriate power source to make sure you are able to keep refrigerators running, keep your hot holding on, and keep your water heater on.

Examples of power sources: plugged into an electrical plug; using a generator This is a NEMA14-50R 220 outlet that you will need to be able to connect your mobile unit to demonstrate power capabilities upon inspection. If you cannot connect to this, please have an adapter available.

Sewage disposal: All wastewater must drain into an approved tank. You must drain this tank in a sanitary sewer; you can’t dump it on the ground or into a storm drain.

Sewage disposal: All wastewater must drain into an approved tank. You must drain this tank in a sanitary sewer; you can’t dump it on the ground or into a storm drain.

Storage: You need to have enough storage to make sure that all food, containers, and single-service utensils (straws, to-go boxes, etc.) are six inches off the floor. All your shelves need to be smooth and easy to clean. You can’t store food under the sink under unprotected pipes. All your toxic items (like cleaning products) need to be stored away from food and labeled clearly.

Trash: You must throw away your trash at an approved location or at your service area. Wherever you’re throwing it away, it must be in a place with a hard surface, like concrete or asphalt. If there’s a dumpster, it needs to be big enough to contain everything and the lid must be able to shut.

Wall, Floor, Ceiling: These all need to be smooth and easy to clean. Washing hands: You must be able to wash your hands on the mobile food establishment. The sink you use for washing your hands must be plumbed correctly and have hot and cold water under pressure. It must be easy to get to and can ONLY be used for handwashing. No washing dishes or dumping drinks out.

Water and Sewage Tanks: You need to have drinkable water either from a tank or directly connected to an approved source. Your wastewater tank needs to be at least 15% bigger than the amount of water in your freshwater tank and your water heater. It needs to be sloped to a drain and have a shut-off valve.

Water Supply: Your water must come from an approved source, and you must have enough to meet your needs. Your water tank needs to be made of food or drinkable water grade material. You must fill it with a food grade hose. It needs to have an inlet that is ¾ inch or less, and not be used for anything else. It also needs to have backflow prevention, so that dirty water cannot get back into the clean water. It also needs to have an approved protective cover for the inlet, outlet, and hose.

For Pushcarts

3-vat sink: Your pushcart needs to have a 3-vat sink that is permanently installed so that you can wash, rinse, and sanitize food equipment. It needs to be big enough to fit half of your biggest utensil (tongs, spoon, etc.). Anything bigger, like steam well containers, can be cleaned at your service area. If you are only selling prepackaged, nonpotentially hazardous food, you might not need this.

Construction: Your pushcart should be made so that it can be easily cleaned and maintained. It should also be able to withstand dust, dirt, splashes, and pests that happen during normal use. You need to have overhead protection, like an umbrella.

Trash: You must have an easy to clean, covered trash can, and it needs to be attached to your pushcart.

Handwashing: You must have a handwashing sink permanently installed on your pushcart. It must:

• Be at least 9 inches wide by 9 inches tall, and at least 5 inches deep
• Have hot and cold water
• Have soap and paper towels available
• Be easy to get to and have a handwashing sign

Hot Holding Units: These must be powered with electricity or propane.

Wastewater tank: A pushcart needs to have a permanent wastewater tank. It must be at least 15% bigger than the freshwater tank and can’t be smaller than 5.75 gallons.

Water tank: A pushcart needs to have a permanent fresh water (drinkable water) tank. It needs to be big enough to have enough water whenever the pushcart is open. It needs to be at least 5 gallons. A water heater needs to have the right capacity and recovery rate to keep hot water available. An instant water heater may be approved if it meets all the requirements.

Download the Mobile Food Requirements Handbook

Cold holding: You must have enough refrigerators to make sure you can keep food at 41º F or below. All your refrigerators must have a thermometer inside to keep track of the temperature.

Condiments: If you’re offering condiments, they must be protected from contamination. The best way to do this is to use individual packets, or bulk dispensers.

Cooking: Food must be cooked to the temperature listed in the food code.

Date marking: If you are going to save something for the next day, it must be marked with the date you made it, or the date to use it by. You can keep it for up to 7 days before throwing it away.

Employee personal items: Items like jackets, purses, etc., must be stored away from food preparation areas so they do not contaminate food.

Outdoor Food Preparation: Cooking food outside of the mobile unit is allowed on a grill or smoker with an attached lid and overhead protection. The food must be prepared inside the mobile unit (i.e. dry rubbed with spices, formed into patties, etc.) then placed in a covered container before taking out to the grill or smoker, then placed on the grill or smoker with the lid closed. When the food is cooked, the food must be removed from the grill or smoker and placed in a clean container and taken into the mobile unit for additional food preparation (i.e. pulling of meat, hot holding, assembling, plating, etc.).

Overhead protection pop-up tents must be less than 400 sq. ft. with open sides. If a tent is 400 sq. ft. or larger it will be required to meet additional Fire department regulations.

Hot holding: You must hold hot food at 135 degrees or above. You must have enough equipment (adequate size and space) to be able to do this.

Probe Thermometer: You need to have thin-probe thermometer to check the temperatures of your food.

Rapid Cooling: If you want to keep hot food for the next day, you must cool it down properly. You need to cool it from 135° F to 70° F in two hours or less, and then you have 4 hours to get it from 70° F to 41° F.

For Pushcarts

Condiments: All condiments (ketchup, mustard, etc.) should be in packets, or in approved dispensers.

Food preparation: You can only reheat, hot hold, cold hold, and assemble on your pushcart. You cannot prepare anything potentially hazardous except for these processes.

Food protection: All food and drinks need to be protected from contamination.

Food source: All food must come from an approved source. You can’t prepare food at home.

Ice: Ice used to keep food cold (41 degrees or below) must be selfdraining. Any ice that will be put in drinks must be stored separately from ice used to keep food cold, and it all must come from an approved source.

Single-Serve: Pushcarts can only use single-serve items (to-go containers, etc.) to serve food.