How to prepare for an EHO inspection on a food truck

Who inspects a mobile food business

Your food business is registered with the council where your van or trailer is normally kept, not where you trade. That council's environmental health team inspects you and gives your food hygiene rating. Officers from other councils can still check you at an event or market in their area.

You must register with your council at least 28 days before you start trading. It's free, and you can't be refused.

How your hygiene rating is worked out

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the rating runs from 0 to 5. In Scotland it's a Pass or Improvement Required. Either way, officers score three things:

• How hygienically food is handled: preparation, cooking, cooling, reheating and storage.
• The condition of the unit: cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, hand washing and pest control.
• Confidence in management: your food safety management system and the records that show you follow it.

The third one is where most points are lost

A clean van with no records rarely gets a 5. Officers want evidence that safety is managed every day, not tidied up for their visit. That means a written food safety management system (Safer Food, Better Business or your own HACCP-based plan) and records that show you follow it: opening and closing checks, temperatures, cleaning, deliveries, training and what you did when something went wrong.

Gaps in the diary, every entry in the same pen on the same day, or checks that are always perfect all suggest the records were filled in later. Honest records with the odd problem and what you did about it score better.

What they'll usually look at

• Your registration and your current rating sticker.
• Your food safety management system, and that it matches what you actually cook.
• Fridges at 8°C or below (most vendors aim for 5°C or below), with a thermometer and a record of readings.
• Cooking to a core temperature of 75°C or an equivalent time and temperature, and hot holding at 63°C or above.
• A probe thermometer, and evidence it's been checked recently in iced and boiling water.
• A separate wash hand basin with hot and cold running water, soap and paper towels.
• Cleaning products that meet BS EN 1276 or 13697, and a cleaning schedule.
• Raw and ready-to-eat food kept apart, with separate equipment.
• Allergen information for everything you sell, and how you tell customers about it.
• Staff training records, and that staff know what to do.
• Fresh water from a safe supply and a proper way of getting rid of waste water.
• Pest control, and no signs of pests.

A quick checklist for any trading day

• Opening checks done and signed before you serve.
• Fridge and hot-hold temperatures recorded at least twice a day.
• Probe thermometer checked in the last month.
• Cleaning done and signed off at close.
• Delivery temperatures and date codes checked.
• Allergen chart up to date and on show, or a sign telling customers to ask.
• Training certificates and insurance in date.
• Any problem written down with what you did about it.

On the day

Stay calm, carry on serving safely, and show the officer what they ask for. Answer honestly; if you don't know something, say you'll find out. If they point something out, fix it and write down what you did. After the visit you'll get a report, and you can ask for a re-rating visit once improvements are made.