Temporary Food Service Information

Temporary Food Service Establishment
What is a Temporary Food Establishment?

A “Temporary Food Establishment” means a food establishment which operates at a fixed location for a temporary period not to exceed 14 consecutive days. Examples include:

If you are wondering whether or not a temporary food license is required for your event, please call Planning & Environment at (734) 222-3800!

How do I apply for a temporary food establishment permit?

You must submit a Temporary Food Service Application and pay any associated fees at least five (5) working days in advance of the proposed first day of operation. The following information is needed for completing the application:

What are the requirements for operating a temporary food establishment?

If you or your organization plan to serve food to the public, some important requirements must be met. The following information is an overview of the requirements taken from the Michigan Department of Agriculture's Temporary Food Establishment Operations Checklist. We recommend reading the complete Temporary Food Establishment Operations Checklist and contacting our office at (734) 222-3800 if you have specific questions about your operation.

Food Source:
All food must come approved sources and/or must be prepared on site in an approved facility. Home canned and home-prepared foods are not permitted!

Person in Charge:
A Person in Charge must be present during all hours of operation. This person must be aware of food safety practices that apply to the temporary food service facility, and he/she must ensure that safe food practices are taking place at the temporary food facility.

Personnel:
All employees must be free from open sores and skin infections, and maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness. Employees may not smoke, eat, or use any form of tobacco while on duty or near food or food service equipment. Food may only be touched with bare hands if it will be cooked after it is touched. Food employees must wear hair restraints to effectively keep hair from contacting food, equipment, utensils, single service items, etc.

No Sick Employees:
Employees who are sick are very likely to spread disease while handling food. Therefore, employees who have diarrhea, vomiting, or who are sneezing or coughing are not permitted to work.

Ready-To-Eat Food:
Employees may not touch ready-to-eat food (food that will not be cooked any further) with their bare hands. Instead, food must be handled with gloved hands, tongs, deli tissue, etc. If employees are wearing single-use gloves, remember to change them often and wash hands in between glove changes!

Cross-Contamination:
Raw animal foods must be kept separate from ready-to-eat foods during storage, preparation, holding, and display. After being used for raw animals foods, utensils and equipment must be cleaned and sanitized before being used for ready-to-eat foods.

Proper Holding Temperatures:

Proper Cooking Temperatures:

Thermometers:
A metal stem thermometer must be provided to check internal temperatures of potentially hazardous hot and cold food. The thermometer must have a range of 0-220°F, and be accurate to within +/- 2°F. In addition, each cold holding unit must have a working thermometer inside it.

Equipment and Utensils:
Bacteria can live and grow on forks, knives, spatulas, spoons, and other utensils that touch food. To minimize the growth of bacteria and prevent contamination of food, utensils must be washed, rinsed, and sanitized at least every 4 hours.

Important Tools and Equipment:

In addition, the following documents may be useful for educating your employees about safe food practices for temporary food service events. Please feel free to download, print, and make copies to give to your employees or hang in your temporary food establishment:



This is printed from: http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/departments/environmental_health/food_safety/eh_tempfoodinfo.html
on Oct. 11, 2008 11:25 am