Mobile Food Service
OAC 3717-1-01 (51) defines a mobile food service operation as:
A “Mobile Food Service Operation” means a food service operation that is operated from a movable vehicle, portable structure, or watercraft and that routinely changes location, except that if the operation remains at any one location for more than forty consecutive days, the operation is no longer a mobile food service operation, but is either a different type food service operation or retail food establishment according to the activities being engaged in and the type of food being offered for sale.
“Mobile food service operation” includes an operation that does not remain at any one location for more than forty consecutive days and serves only frozen desserts; beverages, nuts, popcorn, candy, or similar confections; bakery products identified in section 911.01 of the Revised Code; or any combination of these items.
An application for a mobile food service operation license shall be submitted to the health department in which the applicant’s business headquarters are located, or, if the headquarters are located outside this state, to the health department where the applicant will first operate in this state.
It is recommended that any prospective mobile operators contact the health department during the construction phase of the mobile to ensure that all requirements are being met.
Once a mobile food service license is issued, the license is valid throughout the State of Ohio.