Temporary Restaurant Guidelines

This information has been developed to help you minimize the possibility of food-borne illness by setting up and operating your temporary food operation in a safe, sanitary, and healthful manner.

These are general requirements and recommendations which are essential for protecting the public's health. More specific requirements may be applied to your particular situation.

To avoid problems, you are encouraged to contact Polk County Environmental Health as early as possible when planning for an event. The County's Environmental Health Specialist will be pleased to help with your plans and can answer any questions you may have about your operation.

Temporary Restaurant License

Who needs to get a temporary restaurant license?

Individuals or groups holding an event that is open to the public, where food is prepared or served, must have a temporary restaurant license. This is based on statutory requirements and applies to both profit and non-profit organizations.

A license is required for each food booth in operation during an event. A temporary restaurant can operate at a specific location during a single event or celebration; such as:

• a fair;
• a carnival;
• a circus;
• a similar public gathering.

Please check with Polk County Environmental Health to see if your gathering qualifies as an event.

Where does someone get a temporary restaurant license application?

The application may be obtained from Polk County Environmental Health, or depending on the location, from the Oregon Health Division. To avoid problems, you are encouraged to file your application 14 days prior to the event.

The Environmental Health will review your application for, but not limited to, the following items:

• the types of food to be prepared and how they will be prepared;
• the methods used to keep food hot and cold;
• the booth design to be used for the event;
• the number of persons who have a food handler card;
• the method used for dishwashing; and
• the method of transporting food

Who must have a food handler's card?

Each temporary restaurant must have at least one trained food handler with a current Food Handler's Card in the booth at all times. You can get information about the Food Handler courses and card from Polk County Environmental Health or from the Oregon Health Division.

At the Event

What is necessary for building a temporary restaurant booth?

Your booth should be set up to protect food from contamination. It is recommended that your booth have a roof, and be enclosed to prevent exposure of the food, drink, utensils, and equipment to rodents, insects, dust, dirt or other contamination.

What do I need to know about hand washing?

Food handlers should thoroughly wash their hands. Using soap and water, rub hands together as they are being washed (washing the back of hands, wrists, between fingers, and under finger nails), rinse hands well and dry with a paper towel. Hands should be washed before beginning work and after:

• using the toilet;
• handling raw food;
• handling dirty items;
• coughing or sneezing;
• touching hair, face, or body;
• eating or drinking food, or smoking;
• bagging or taking out garbage.

The first thing set-up in the booth should be the hand washing sink. If a hand washing sink is not available in the booth, then another system must be set up.

An acceptable hand washing system which is available at all times must have at least five gallons of warm flowing water, hand soap, paper towels, and a bucket that is large enough to collect at least five gallons of waste water.

What is needed for dishwashing?

When equipment or utensils need to be washed, a three step dishwashing procedure must be used. A three compartment sink, or three containers, can be used. The sink or container must be big enough to wash your largest dish or utensil.

The first sink must contain clean, hot, soapy water; the second a clear, hot water rinse; and the third, a cool sanitizing rinse (75°F or below) with a chlorine concentration of 50-100 p.p.m. (1 teaspoon of bleach per gallon of water). The concentration can be easily checked by using a chlorine sanitizer test kit.

What cleaning materials should be used in a food booth?

Wiping cloths should be clean and used for wiping down equipment before beginning work and whenever needed.

The cloths must be rinsed and stored in a sanitizing solution between uses. An acceptable sanitizing chemical is bleach (do not add soap to the mixture). A bleach sanitizing solution can be made by adding one teaspoon of bleach (a capful) to one gallon of water that is 75°F or less.

The solution should be tested when first made, and changed whenever it begins to look cloudy, or does not meet the required concentration (50-100 p.p.m. for bleach).

What else should I know about running my booth?

For service, storage and clean up purposes, remember the following:

• all foods should be stored at least 6 (six) inches off the ground;
• garbage cans should have tight fitting lids;
• waste water should be disposed of in a public sewer;
• a public toilet or a gray waste water collection container; and
• public restrooms must be available, and be close by.

Safe Food Handling

What are important points to remember about your menu?

      Keep your menu simple, and keep the amount of potentially hazardous foods (meats, eggs, dairy products, poultry, fish, etc.) to a minimum.    

All foods must be purchased from a facility (a grocery store, a bakery, a meat market, a restaurant, etc.) that is licensed and inspected by an authorized government agency. All preparation and storage of food must be done in the booth, or in a licensed food service or processing facility. Foods cannot be prepared or stored at private homes. No home canned or home processed foods are allowed.

There is an exception for non-profit organizations only. Non-profit organizations may serve donated baked goods which do not have perishable fillings, icings, or toppings. If foods are served that have not been purchased or prepared in a licensed food service or processing facility, then a sign must be posted. The sign must be posted in public view stating that the baked goods were prepared in an unlicensed kitchen. The letters on the sign must be at least 2 1/2 (two and one-half) inches in height.

What can cause food-borne illness?

The CDC (U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention) has found that the following six things can lead to food-borne illnesses:

• using contaminated raw foods and ingredients;
• preparing food too far ahead of service;
• using improper cooling and cold holding practices;
• using improper hot holding practices;
• using improper reheating practices; and
• poor personal hygiene or an infected food handler preparing food.

What is the proper cooking temperature?

When preparing food, follow these cooking temperature requirements:

• ground beef must be cooked to 155° Fahrenheit
• poultry must be cooked to 165° Fahrenheit
• pork and other meats (exotic meats) must be cooked to 150° Fahrenheit

Use a metal stem probe type cooking thermometer, which has a temperature range of 0° to 220° Fahrenheit, to check food temperatures.

The thermometer should be checked for accuracy by placing it in water containing crushed ice (32° F). If accurate, the thermometer should read approximately 32° F. Before checking any food product, clean and sanitize the thermometer.

What is the holding temperature for cooked foods?

Cooked foods must be held at 140° Fahrenheit or above during service. Check the temperature of the food with a cooking thermometer. Hot holding may be done in crock pots, steam tables or other hot holding devices.

What is the proper method and temperature to reheat cooked foods?

If reheating of foods is necessary, the foods should be heated to at least 165° Fahrenheit within 60 minutes. Reheat on a stove, or with a device which provides immediate hot heat.

Foods cannot be re-heated using crock pots, steam tables, Sterno or other hot holding devices that cannot provide immediate hot heat. It is recommended that leftover foods not be reserved.

What is the proper method and temperature to cool foods?

Potentially hazardous foods that require refrigeration must be cooled as quickly as possible to 45° Fahrenheit. To cool foods down quickly, use an ice water bath, stirring the product frequently, or place the food in shallow 4-inch deep pans (recommended food depth is 2 inches) and refrigerate. Do not store hot foods one on top of another. Check with the Environmental Health Specialist during the application process for more cooling ideas.

Foods must be placed in an appropriate cold holding unit that can maintain food temperatures at or below 45° Fahrenheit. All refrigerators and cold holding units, including coolers, must be equipped with a spirit stem thermometer (red liquid thermometer). The thermometer should be placed in the warmest area of the unit; usually by the door or on the cooler lid.

What is an acceptable method for thawing potentially hazardous frozen foods?

Foods should be thawed in a refrigerator or an ice filled insulated cooler. Food can also be thawed under cool running water, in a microwave oven (as long as the food will be immediately cooked), or thawed as part of the cooking process.

What is an acceptable method for transporting food?

When transporting any potentially hazardous food to your site, maintain adequate hot temperatures (140° Fahrenheit and above) and cold temperatures (45° Fahrenheit or below) at all times. During the application process, the Environmental Health Specialist can help in determining what equipment will be needed for transporting food. Also, the food should be covered to protect it from contamination at all times.

During the event, an Environmental Health Specialist will be inspecting the food booth. Additional requirements may be necessary to assure food safety.

The information on this webpage is for basic guideline purposes. More specific requirements may be necessary for your individual circumstance.