Important Food Truck Safety Tips
Your food truck is your livelihood. You have invested a lot into preparing the truck and turning it into a lucrative business. However, without continued efforts you risk harming and losing not only employees and customers, but also your business. Commit to keeping your truck a safe place by properly training employees, preparing for emergencies, and performing regular inspections.
Properly Train Employees
Employees are a major part of ensuring your truck is run properly. It is your responsibility to train them how to handle food properly and how to operate the equipment in a food truck. Many states require food service employees to take a food handler’s course. These courses instruct on proper sanitation practices, food handling and storage, and how to prevent the spread of food-borne disease. Provide frequent trainings for your employees to refresh food handling protocols. You should also make sure employees know how to operate every piece of equipment in the food truck before leaving them alone.
Prepare for Emergencies
Working in a kitchen has certain risks. Working in a tight space increases the likelihood of those risks. Keep your employees, customers, and business safe by properly preparing for emergencies. You should always have a fire extinguisher on hand. An emergency shut off switch is also beneficial for cutting power or gas to any appliance that gets out of control. You also need to have a first aid kit to disinfect, attend cuts, and take care of any other accidents that could happen.
Perform Regular Inspections
When any food service does not meet health requirements, it is a speedy way to get shut down. You are responsible for meeting all health and safety requirements for your food truck. It is important that you perform regular inspections. Check to make sure food is being prepared properly. Health inspection forms can easily be downloaded from your health department’s website. Check equipment functionality to mitigate the risk of malfunctions. Identify potential safety concerns early so you have time to take the appropriate course of action before something serious happens.
Maintaining your truck will give you the freedom to continue operating your business. It will also establish a reputation with your customers that will bring in steady business. Keep your food truck safe by properly training employees, preparing for emergencies, and performing regular inspections.
Be sure to check out Common Food Truck Maintenance for additional food truck safety guidance.