Food safety by business type
Food safety & HACCP for a Food Truck
A HACCP pack for a food truck — mobile trading, limited water and off-grid temperature control.
A food truck has to meet the same food-safety law as a bricks-and-mortar kitchen, but from a small mobile unit with limited water, power and space. Hand-washing, cold storage and waste all have to work off-grid, and you must be registered with your local authority at least 28 days before you start trading. You need a documented HACCP-based system under EC Regulation 852/2004 that reflects mobile operation, and FiveRate builds one around the realities of street trading.
Free HACCP plan on the house. Full EHO-ready pack from £14.99/mo with a 7-day free trial.
The real risks
Top food safety hazards in a food truck
Your HACCP plan has to be built around the hazards your food truck actually carries — not a generic list. These are the ones that matter most.
Limited hand-washing on board
A mobile unit must still have a dedicated hand-wash basin with hot and cold running water, soap and towels, separate from food and equipment washing. Running out of water mid-service leaves staff unable to wash hands properly — a core hygiene failure.
Off-grid cold storage
Refrigeration on a truck depends on gas, battery or a generator, and small units struggle in hot weather or a long shift. Cold food drifting above 8°C because the fridge can't cope is a defining mobile risk.
Cooking and hot-holding in a tight space
High-volume cooking to order from a cramped unit makes it easy to undercook at a rush or hold food below 63°C. Burgers, chicken and reformed meats must still reach a safe core temperature every time.
Water supply and waste
A safe potable water supply for cooking and cleaning, plus proper storage of waste water and rubbish, are essential and often overlooked. Contaminated or insufficient water undermines everything else.
Cross-contamination with minimal space
With almost no room to separate raw from ready-to-eat, a food truck needs tight discipline — separate storage, colour-coded equipment and rigorous cleaning — to stop raw meat contaminating served food.
Critical control points
The CCPs a food truck has to get right
Critical control points are the steps where a hazard is prevented or reduced to a safe level — and where an inspector will expect to see monitoring and records.
A stocked, working hand-wash basin with hot and cold running water throughout service, supplied from a safe potable source with enough capacity for the shift.
On-board refrigeration keeping food at or below 8°C even in warm conditions, with temperatures checked and recorded, and cool boxes/ice packs as backup.
Burgers, chicken and reformed meats cooked to 75°C core (or equivalent), probe-checked, with hot-held items kept at 63°C+.
Where the marks are lost
What EHOs commonly mark food trucks down for
The food hygiene rating is scored on three things: hygienic food handling, the cleanliness of the premises, and confidence in management. Food Trucks most often lose points on the last one — the paperwork.
- !A hand-wash basin with no running hot water, or that has run dry, during trading.
- !Under-powered refrigeration letting cold food warm above 8°C on a hot day.
- !Trading without having registered with the local authority 28 days before starting.
- !No practical separation of raw and ready-to-eat in a tiny unit, and no temperature records.
Allergens
Allergen management for a food truck
A food truck serves fast, often to a queue, so allergen information has to be instant: clear signage of the 14 allergens for each item and staff who can answer accurately without holding up service. Shared cooking surfaces and fryers in a small unit make cross-contact likely, so be honest about what you cannot keep allergen-free rather than guessing under pressure.
Under the 14-allergen rules (assimilated Regulation 1169/2011) and Natasha's Law, every UK food business must give accurate allergen information — the format depends on how the food is sold.
FAQ
Food Truck food safety questions
Do food trucks need to register and have a HACCP plan?
Yes to both. You must register your food business with the local authority at least 28 days before you start trading, and you need a documented food safety management system based on HACCP principles under EC Regulation 852/2004, just like a fixed premises.
What hand-washing does a food truck need?
A dedicated hand-wash basin with hot and cold running water, soap and towels, separate from where you wash food and equipment — kept supplied throughout service from a safe water source with enough capacity for the whole shift.
How do I keep food cold on a food truck?
Use refrigeration that can genuinely hold 8°C or below in the conditions you trade in, check and record temperatures, and keep cool boxes and ice packs as backup. Don't overload a small fridge, especially in hot weather.
How does a food truck get a 5 hygiene rating?
Get the basics visibly right — working hand-washing, reliable cold storage, safe cooking — and back them with a food safety management system and daily records. That paperwork is the 'Confidence in Management' pillar, and it's where mobile traders most often lose marks.
Get inspection-ready
Build your food truck's food safety records the easy way
FiveRate generates a HACCP plan tailored to a food truck in minutes, then the full EHO-ready pack — HACCP, daily checklists, temperature logs, allergen matrix, cleaning schedule and inspection report — all written for your business.
Food safety by business type