The bustling streets of Salt Lake City are home to a variety of food options, from established eateries to those on-the-go meals served out of trucks and pop-ups. However, the Salt Lake County Health Department (SLCoHD) has issued a cautionary note to the community about the potential hazards when opting to dine at mobile food vendors lacking the proper credentials. In specific terms, if these "pop-up" vendors don’t display a valid SLCoHD food service permit, they likely haven’t undergone an essential health inspection to verify their adherence to crucial food safety practices such as maintaining proper food temperatures and regular hand washing.
In a statement featured on West Jordan’s official website, Andrea Gamble, who supervises food protection at the SLCoHD, highlighted the risk, saying, "Decrease your chances of foodborne illness by confirming that food vendors you visit prominently display a current Salt Lake County Health Department permit on their vehicle, cart or booth," as per the City of West Jordan. She adds that health permits are not transferable between businesses, emphasizing that pop-ups can't simply use another business's permit, even if they share the same space at different times. These unique permits are meant to specifically cover their menu, operations, and staff.
Gamble continued to explain that routine visits by inspectors are a key part of ensuring an establishment’s cleanliness and that its employees are practicing safe food handling. "The presence of a permit indicates that inspectors are routinely visiting to confirm an establishment’s cleanliness and that the business’s employees are following safe food handling practices," Gamble told the City of West Jordan. The report stresses the importance for consumers to proactively look for the permit before ordering, and not to patronize those businesses without one.
The Salt Lake County Health Department is not just about dishing out warnings; they’re also offering to help guide pop-up and mobile vendors through the process of getting the appropriate food service permit. Information regarding the necessary steps to acquire a mobile food service permit can be found on their website. The department staff are also ready to assist vendors with their application process. This, according to the SLCoHD, is to ensure fair play among food vendors and to guarantee public safety: "Operating without a permit isn’t safe for the public, and it’s not fair to the thousands of permitted food businesses in the county that are operating legally and receiving inspections," Gamble stated, as obtained by the City of West Jordan.
