The Allegheny County Health Department pulled the plug on the Halal Gyro Guys food trailer on Wednesday after inspectors said they found a cluster of food-safety failures, including cooked chicken sitting at unsafe temperatures and prepared produce held too warm. Inspectors also reported the trailer did not have a working water supply, a problem they said posed an immediate risk to public health.
The county's consumer-alerts listing for Halal Gyro Guys Trailer (#75-137), posted Wednesday, cites the shutdown reasons as lack of water, improper hot and cold holding temperatures, no probe thermometer, no handwashing facilities, and an expired permit, according to the Allegheny County Health Department. The listing notes that the trailer was operating in East Liberty at the time of the inspection.
Inspection Findings And Complaint Details
Local reporting says inspectors logged eight separate violations, three of them marked high-risk. Among them: cooked chicken was found at an unsafe holding temperature in a pan on the griddle, and chopped lettuce and diced tomatoes were being stored too warm. The inspection followed a complaint that the trailer had a flat tire and a parking boot; inspectors wrote that the boot actually belonged to the operator and that the wheel "must be repaired," according to WPXI.
Why Temperatures And Water Matter
The FDA model Food Code puts the hot-holding threshold at 135°F and the cold-holding threshold at 41°F; food held between those numbers can slide into the so-called "danger zone," where bacteria multiply quickly. For mobile vendors, the rules also require potable water, working handwashing sinks and accurate thermometers so operators can show they are keeping food safe, per the FDA Food Code and Allegheny County's mobile-food guidance. Closures stay in place until inspectors confirm that problems have been fixed in a follow-up visit.
WPXI's coverage links directly to the county assessment and the inspection report, which lay out each violation and the recommended corrective actions. Readers who want to comb through the full paperwork trail can use that reporting to access the county's documents.
