Serving delicious food can be your primary goal as a food truck owner. However, that doesn’t mean it should be your only objective. Alongside making sure your customers leave feeling satisfied, you must also work hard to maintain their health and safety. As you know, here at NYSF – we talk about anything related to food, restaurants, and food trucks. In this post, we discuss tips on how to maintain customer safety around a food truck.
As unexpected and unlikely as customer illnesses and injuries might be, that doesn’t mean they don’t happen. Fortunately, you might be able to reduce the risk and maintain customer safety by taking these actions:
Set Up a Safe Service Area
You may be liable for a customer injury if you don’t do everything you can to keep your customers safe. Start by parking your food truck in a safe location, with enough distance between your vehicle and customers. Put queue management systems in place to avoid overcrowding, and consider choosing somewhere with adequate lighting, seating, and parking.
You should also ensure your food truck is parked with the order window facing the sidewalk. This is often a city requirement for customer safety.
Watch this video to learn more:
Have a Fire Safety Plan
You’re working in a confined space with cooking appliances. In such a high-risk environment, anything can go wrong. However, you might be able to reduce the risk of injury and food truck damage if you have a fire safety plan in place. This plan might include the installation of fire extinguishers and having protocols for regularly maintaining and inspecting your cooking equipment. If you have employees, ensure they know what to do in the event of a fire emergency.
Communicate and Identify All Safety Hazards
No food truck owner intentionally sets out to put their employees and customers in harm’s way. However, some people can be seriously injured when they aren’t made aware of potential hazards or safety risks surrounding a food truck.
If you’re aware of safety hazards you can’t rectify, such as power cords and uneven sidewalks, create signs and highlight those hazards. The more information you provide to warn your customers and employees, the safer they may be.
Prioritize Food Safety
Food poisoning is a common problem in the hospitality industry. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are hospitalized yearly due to foodborne illnesses like salmonella, E. Coli, and norovirus. Make food safety your priority for your customers’ peace of mind.
This can include keeping your food truck and surrounding areas clean at all times, practicing good hand hygiene, and ensuring proper food storage. You may also request that your staff undertake food safety practice training and conduct regular health checks.
There’s also the issue of propane, which is the lifeblood of these kitchens on wheels. Propane requires diligent handling and maintenance to prevent mishaps. Regular checks, secure storage, and proper ventilation are crucial safety measures to guarantee a smooth and risk-free cooking experience on the move.
Watch this video to learn more:
Display Allergen Information
Allergies are the sixth-leading cause of chronic illness in the United States, with over 100 million people experiencing allergies annually. Of those 100 million people, at least 20 million have food allergies.
Knowing that some of your customers may be allergic to ingredients present in your food, displaying allergen information can be crucial. Include this information clearly on your menu and marketing materials. Employees must also be aware of allergens in your food so they can communicate this information to customers when they ask.
Watch this for some more tips:
Maintaining customer safety around a food truck is as important as serving quality food. Prioritize these actions above, and you might provide your customers with a dining experience that’s memorable for all the right reasons.
Fallon Chan is a food and lifestyle photographer and blogger.
