Chowhounds, take heart. A survey of food trucks in major cities finds that getting your lunch on wheels is as safe as -- or safer than -- stepping into a sit-down restaurant.
The Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm, examined the safety violations of food trucks and carts in seven cities. The firm says it reviewed more than 260,000 food-safety inspection reports in Boston; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Louisville, Kentucky; Miami; Seattle; and Washington, D.C. The result? The trucks had the same or fewer violations than restaurants.
"The notion that street food is unsafe is a myth," the report argues. "The recipe for clean and safe food trucks is simple -- inspections."
As Vox reported, each employee working in food trucks in New York City is required to get a health department license. In a stationary restaurant, the health department requires just one employee per shift to have a license.