http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Business-Services/Search-by-Business/Food-Inspections/Opening-and-Operating-a-Food-Establishment


and


https://www.myfloridalicense.com/intentions2.asp?chBoard=true&SID=&boardid=200&professionid=2014


All Food Vendors Fall into one of the following 4 categories. organized be easiest to hardest.


1) Vendors offering only whole produce or legumes in the shell are not required to obtain a food permit from FDACS if the produce is sold in a raw or intact state.



2) Cottage Foods are foods such as Breads Cakes Cookies and Candies Jams Jellies and fruit pies. As long as Gross Sales do not exceed 15k a year and the items are being sold directly to the public by the baker these may be made at a home "they must be labeled "Made in a cottage operation that is not subject to Floridas food regulations



3) Florida Dept of agriculture and Consumer services regulates: Stores with pre packaged food: Grocery stores, Convenience Stores, Health food stores, water and ice sales, seafood and meat markets, Bakeries, Canning and Bottling. Ice Cream Trucks, Pre Packaged Foods, Popcorn, Snow Cones, Shaved Ice, Cotten Candy, Pretzled, Doughnuts Lemonade, Corn on the Cob, Candies Confections. Raw Fish sales. An Opening Inspection is required before operation as a Food Establishment to determine compliance Even if an establishment only sells prepackaged food, a food permit issued by either the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services or the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation is needed.


 An "Opening Inspection" should be requested two weeks before opening by calling (850) 245-5520. When calling for the opening inspection you can give a phone number, business location address and person to contact. An Inspector will be assigned who will contact you in 3-5 working days for the opening inspection. At the time of the opening inspection you should be prepared to supply all of the information contained on the Food Permit Application. Please do not fill out this application before the inspection. The Inspector will assist you with this at the time of the inspection. The Food Establishment cannot open if the rating is Poor.


4) The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) regulates food service establishments such as restaurants, other food service facilities, including temporary events, and mobile vendors that prepare and serve food


The following is sumerized from the complete list


Needs a DBPR License

Does not need a DBPR License

Any establishment preparing and serving food to the public such as a restaurant, fast food service, café, sandwich shop, bar or lounge, or food service in a mall, food court, or flea market.

Any food establishment regulated by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services or the Department of Health, including specific types of food service listed below.

Ice cream store serving scooped ice cream.

Ice cream store serving only packaged ice cream.

“Take and Bake” food service where customers assemble and package a meal to be cooked at home.

Preparing or serving only beverages, ice, popcorn or prepackaged foods.

Selling or serving hot dogs or other unpackaged food from a cart or vehicle, including trucks, cars, and boats.

Vehicle selling or serving only packaged food such as an ice cream truck or lunch truck.

Selling or serving food for take out or delivery.

Delivering food ordered from a food service establishment.

Selling or serving barbeque or other food along the roadside.

Roadside vegetable stand or boiled peanut vendor.

Selling or serving food at a temporary event such as a fair, carnival, sporting event, or farmer’s market.

Selling or serving food at a temporary event such as a fair, carnival, sporting event, or farmer’s market if:

  • offering only packaged food/drink, or limited to popcorn, ice or drinks;

  • the event is located on church or school property; or

  • the vendor is a civic, fraternal or religious non-profit organization.



for more information go to https://www.myfloridalicense.com/intentions2.asp?chBoard=true&SID=&boardid=200&professionid=2014



Food Handler Licence

ALL food establishments including mobile vendors permitted by the department must have a certified food manager.  EXCEPT: 

1. Food establishments or mobile vendors that  sell, store, or hold only pre‐packaged, non‐ potentially hazardous foods that  arrive  at the food  establishment  in  a pre‐packaged 

state  and  that  are  not  opened  or  otherwise  further  processed  by  the  food  establishment, 

2. Food establishments or mobile vendors that sell pre‐packaged individual portion frozen  novelties (examples: ice cream sandwich, frozen yogurt bars, popsicles etc.)  and; 

3.  Food establishments that only process seafood and that are in full compliance 



a test costs between $55 and $100 dependiing on who you use and you must go to a test center. online courses are available and are not very lengthy. a licence is good for 5 years.



SOME but not all guidelines for mobile food carts from Dept of agriculture

mobile vendors cannot provide seating for customers.

Any mobile food establishment that is in an open-air environment must protect the food from weather and environmental contamination such as rain, dust, insects, birds and rodents.

Must have an agreement with a commissary and be capable of visiting commissary with each day of operation. Food products and supplies must be stored at approved commissaries and not in private residences.

I think this paragraph beow means that the following types of products can have open carts:

Mobile food establishments may be permitted to have or process exposed food items such as ice confections (snowballs, shaved ice, slushie, smoothies, and similar products), non-potentially hazardous beverages with or without ice, non-potentially hazardous beverages with or without garnishments, non potentially hazardous bulk beverages, pastry products, popcorn/kettle corn, candies including shelled nuts that are candy or sugar coated, confections like cotton candy, candy apples, peanut brittle, fudge, caramel corn, and similar products; and coffee beverages with or without dairy or synthetic dairy products like cafe con leche, latte, cappuccino, etc., if they have equipment, utensils and facilities that adequately protect the food



Mobile vendors are not required to have rest room facilities, or provide hand washing facilities for the public



4. Mobile food establishments that extract and sell juice by the glass are permitted to squeeze fresh fruit/vegetable juice at a mobile site without any of the following: a HACCP plan or E. coli testing of product or a display of a warning placard provided the following conditions are met:

• A certified food manager is present.

• Juice is extracted and provided by the glass (open single-serving container) only.

• Juice must be extracted in an enclosed juicing machine. Hand squeezing of orange juice for human consumption is prohibited.

• Hand wash sink with hot and cold potable water under pressure must be located within the mobile food establishment.

• Mobile food establishments may have extra equipment and utensils on site that have already been washed, rinsed, sanitized and protected from environmental contamination for use as described in the FDA Food Code 4-602.11. If extra equipment is not available on site or cannot be replaced/used in a sanitary manner, the mobile vendor must have a three compartment sink on site or an agreement with a commissary that allows for the use of a three compartment sink on site and is available during all operational hours of the mobile food establishment.

• Juicing machine must be washed, rinsed, and sanitized in a three compartment sink with hot & cold potable water before and after use or during any interruption in operation. The juicing machine may not be in use for more than 4 hours unless it is disassembled, washed, rinsed, and sanitized in a three compartment sink with hot & cold potable water.

• All fruits/vegetables must be washed, rinsed, sanitized and protected from contamination during the entire process, i.e. stored in sealed containers.

• Single-use gloves must be worn while handling sanitary fruit/vegetables and while juice is being dispensed into single-serving containers.

• When all the above conditions cannot be met, the juice processor must cease operation.



5. Mobile food establishments that have food sales which include preparation of non-potentially hazardous foods or dispense bulk, non-potentially hazardous food products such as nuts, teas, candies, spices, pickles must have a certified food protection manager, adequate storage space for food products so that the food is protected, containers for solid waste, potable water supply, maintain cleanable food and non-food contact services, a hand washing sink in the unit with hot and cold running water under pressure, and a waste water tank 15% larger than the potable water tank. No bare hand contact of ready to eat foods is permitted. A three compartment sink must accessible either within the unit or at a commissary. If the three compartment sink is provided by a commissary than the mobile food establishment must have extra equipment and utensils on site that have already been washed, rinsed, snnitized and protected from environmental contamination for use as described in the FDA Food Code 4-602.11.


Florida Dept of agriculture has a commisaries agreement that must be filled out.





SOME but not all guidelines for mobile food carts from DBPR



Since we are not a Theme park you can not applyy for Theme Park Food Cart permit. we are not a theme park becuase, amung other reasons, we are not a complex comprised of at least 25 contiguous acres. You are most likely a Mobile Food Dispensing Vehicle or Hot Dog Cart

ELIGIBILITY:

Mobile food dispensing vehicles are vehicle-mounted public food service establishments. Some MFDVs are self-propelled and built to travel on public streets. Other MFDVs are not self-propelled but can be moved from place to place. MFDVs may even be watercraft. Vehicles that are required to have vehicle identification numbers (VINs) must submit this number to the division on the application for license. [Rule 61C-1.002(5)(a)2., Florida Administrative Code (FAC)]

Hot Dog Carts are mobile food dispensing vehicles that limit the preparation of food to frankfurters. [Rule 61C-4.0161(3), FAC] If filing for a plan review online for a Hot Dog Cart, please return to the previous screen and choose the Hot Dog Cart Plan Review Only process.