Senator Peralta & IDC issues report on dirtiest pushcarts in New York City, illustrating need for grading restaurants-on-wheels

Senate takes up Peralta’s bill today on letter grading for pushcarts & food trucks  

Albany, NY — As the New York State Senate readies to vote on a bill sponsored by Senator Jose Peralta (D-Queens) to assign letter grades to pushcarts and food trucks, the Senator and members of the Independent Democratic Conference issued a report, “Grades-on-the-go: An Inside Look into the Dirtiest Pushcarts & Food Trucks in New York City,” that analyzed inspection data from 2016.

“A vast majority of street vendors support a letter grading system, since it brings increased legitimacy to their businesses. With this more transparent system in place, consumers will have fewer worries about their food being unsafe when they pick up a falafel, a hot dog or a taco on the go. This investigation illustrates the need for transparency,” said Senator Peralta

The restaurants-on-wheels are inspected by New York City’s Department of Mental Health and Hygiene, but the inspections are not made public. Senator Peralta’s legislation would assign letter grades to pushcarts and food trucks just like restaurants and make it easier for DOHMH to obtain locations for inspections.

Analysts found the six dirtiest carts in the city where inspectors issued violations that could have resulted in a “C.”

Letter “C” Vendor Health Inspections

 The ten most common food safety related violations issued in 2016
 

 Within the five boroughs, Manhattan has the largest concentration of pushcarts and food trucks. The report also found that it had the highest rate of violations per inspection, with 1.17. 

To improve the sanitary conditions of these trucks and to provide consumers with easy access to information on the cleanliness of these establishments, Senator Peralta’s legislation would require that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene convert the existing health inspections into the letter grade equivalent.

As a conference, the IDC has long advocated for greater transparency in the conditions of the food that New Yorkers eat. Senator Klein worked on the original letter grading system for restaurants in New York City, and more recently on the posting of cafeteria conditions for schools.

 The bill was hailed by the industry.

“At the New York Food Truck Association (NYFTA), we think food trucks should be held to the same food safety regulations as brick-and-mortar restaurants, not only including letter grades, but also addressing the onerous food safety permitting process for food truck employees,” said Ben Goldberg, Founder and CEO New York Truck Association.