Food trucks operating within San Diego County, the first county in California to grade restaurants on health-related issues, will be issued letter grades indicating whether they passed safety and hygiene inspections. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday that food trucks are required to display the same health inspection grades as restaurants.
The popularity of mobile food trucks continues to increase in San Diego County. Currently, there are 1,100 food trucks and more than half of them could face new food safety requirements. County Supervisor Ron Roberts proposed this food safety grading system after The Watchdog and 10News began asking questions about the lack of grades on mobile eateries.
10News found that about half of 1,091 food trucks operated during the past two years received at least one violation. However, they were not required to display the results.
Roberts mentioned at the meeting the reason for this proposal, saying “this is a public health issue and the public does have a right to know." His proposal is mainly designed for cleanliness of those who cook and prepare food on the trucks.
The food trucks would receive decals instead of cards, so that the grades could not be transferred to other vehicles. Roberts said the letter grades for mobile food facilities will also be posted online by the end of this year.
