Health Dept. Links

U.S. Food Health Links:

The United States is a world leader in the science of Food Safety and has a huge infrastructure in place to govern this area. As a result some of these sites are enormous. It’s like trying to drink from a fire hydrant. So we have included clues and directions on how to get to some of the pertinent information for an American hotdog cart operator.

www.healthguideusa.org/local_health_departments.htm

Links to County Web Sites: This site is a huge index of all the county health departments in every state in the USA. Click on the above master link. Then click on your State and then your County. This will take you to your local county health department web site. Look for internal links with headings such as Food Safety, Environmental Safety, Mobile Food Units, Regulations and Licensing, or go to the Search Box and search terms such as hot dog carts, mobile food stands, temporary food stands, food vending, or itinerant food vending.

www.fda.gov

It’s a big site! Go the the A-Z index. Then to the “S” in the Index. It provides a list of links to all the various State health departments.

www.foodsafety.gov

Another big site. Lots of info. Click on the button for “Federal and State Gov’t Agencies”.Then go down to the heading entitled “State and Local Gov’t Agencies”. If your state isn’t listed click on the first subheading “Overall Listing of State, County and territory Listings”. There you will find a comprehensive contact list.

www.fsis.usda.gov

Excellent information on safe food handling, meat storage guidelines, and background info on the meat products you will be selling. Just type “hot dog” in the search box in the upper left corner of the home page.

www.profoodsafety.org

Information for foodservice professionals in 14 languages!

www.idph.state.il.us/about/fdd/fddintro.htm

This Illinois Health Department site has some excellent info on food safety and printable charts on food temperature requirements.

www.lapublichealth.org

Click on “Food Safety”. Many other useful links for American hotdog cart vendors in California and especially the Los Angeles area.

For Canadian Hot Dog Stand Operators:

www.hc-sc.gc.ca

Canadian Federal Government Health site (Health Canada). In English or French.

Go to the A-Z index to “F”. Click on “Food Safety”, then click on “Safe Food Handling”.

www.inspection.gc.ca

Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) site. In English or French.

To find your local food health authority anywhere in Canada follow these instructions: Click on “Food”, then “Retail Food”, then “Information for Restauranteurs and Food Service Operators”, then “Local Inspection Authority”.

Also go to A-Z Index, Then click on “Food”, then go to “F” for “Food Safety Tips”. Good info at “Barbecuing”.

www.regional.niagara.on.ca

This site has some really good plain language tips for a hot dog cart operator. Click on “Living”. Click on “Public Health” on the drop down menu. Then click on the “A-Z Index”. Scroll down to the heading “Hot Dog Cart Requirements”. Good info!

www.toronto.ca

Click on “Health” under the heading Living in Toronto. Click on the A-Z Index. Scroll down to the heading “Hot Dog Carts – Requirements for”. Excellent information in a practical easy to read format!