A food truck is a commercial kitchen on wheels. In New Zealand, most food trucks preparing meals need a registered food safety system, independent verification and permission to trade at their chosen locations. The truck, any preparation kitchen and the journey between them all need to keep food safe.
This guide explains what to organise before opening and how to manage a service safely. Much of it also applies to food trailers, coffee carts and market stallholders. Your menu and processes determine your food safety requirements, rather than the size of your vehicle.
1. Find the food safety system that matches your menu
Start with MPI’s My Food Rules tool. Enter everything you intend to make and sell, including drinks, sauces, food prepared elsewhere and any cooling or reheating. Most trucks cooking meals for customers use MPI’s Simply Safe and Suitable template Food Control Plan. Other activities may fall under a National Programme or need a different plan.
Do not assume that a coffee cart, burger truck and stall selling sealed snacks have identical requirements. Download the plan or programme identified for your business and complete the relevant sections. Ask your council about specialised processes such as vacuum packing, fermentation or extended storage before adding them.
Register before you begin trading
For a mobile business using a template Food Control Plan or National Programme, register with the local council where the business is based. MPI has different routes for custom plans and businesses with multiple fixed sites. Tell the council about your vehicle, menu, storage and preparation locations so the registration covers your actual operation.
Ask for the application checklist, required site drawings, fees and expected processing time. Keep the issued registration certificate available in the truck. Buying a truck with a previous owner’s certificate does not automatically register your business.
2. Include every preparation and storage location
If you chop vegetables, cook fillings, cool rice or store ingredients outside the truck, that location is part of the food operation.
A home kitchen is not automatically forbidden, but it must be suitable for the work and properly covered. Give your council the full picture, including any shared commercial kitchen, home preparation area or separate storage. Agree how cleaning, access and responsibility work in a shared kitchen.
Practical example: a curry truck that cooks at home, chills overnight and reheats at a market needs controls covering all three stages. Registering only the serving vehicle leaves the preparation arrangement unresolved.
3. Get permission for each place you trade
Food registration and trading permission serve different purposes. A registered mobile business can travel to other districts, but that does not allow it to park and sell anywhere. Contact the destination council before trading and provide your registration certificate if requested.
- Public roads, parks and reserves: check mobile trading permits, concessions, approved sites, parking restrictions and allowed hours.
- Private land: obtain the owner’s permission and check planning rules. Owner approval alone does not settle whether the activity is permitted.
- Markets and festivals: book through the organiser and confirm what documentation, utilities and safety equipment they require.
For example, Christchurch treats mobile trading separately from its allocated permanent food truck sites. Its public spaces guidance includes location restrictions and a limited duration for mobile trading. Those conditions are local examples, not national rules.
Ask each site contact where you can obtain water, dispose of wastewater, use toilets and connect to power. Confirm this in advance rather than arriving with food that depends on unavailable facilities.
4. Make the truck suitable for your actual workload
Your layout must let staff prepare, cook and serve without contaminating food. Provide durable surfaces that are easy to clean, sufficient storage and refrigeration, suitable washing facilities, ventilation and access for maintenance. A fitout that works for 30 orders may struggle with 150.
Keep raw ingredients separate from cooked food and food served without further cooking. Plan where staff put dirty utensils, rubbish and chemicals. Avoid a layout where raw chicken must pass over the salad assembly area.
Your food truck should have suitable handwashing facilities with hot water, safe water and wastewater storage, surfaces that are easy to clean, and proper waste disposal. Check which vehicle, gas and electrical documents are required for your setup and the events you attend.
5. Provide safe water, handwashing and waste disposal
Water used for food, ice, handwashing and cleaning must be suitable for its purpose. Carry enough for the whole service, including cleanup. Keep water containers, tanks and filling equipment clean and protected. For changing sources, record where the water came from and follow the water requirements in your plan; discuss any testing or treatment needed for a private supply.
Provide accessible handwashing with suitable running water, soap and hygienic drying. Keep it available during service rather than filling the basin with equipment. Hand sanitiser and gloves do not replace proper handwashing.
Collect wastewater in a suitable holding system and empty it through an approved disposal point. Do not release greasy wash water into a stormwater drain or onto the ground. Agree the disposal arrangement with the site operator or council. Keep rubbish contained and remove it regularly.
For a temporary stall: Staff need a way to wash their hands at the stall while preparing and serving food. Ask your council or verifier what portable handwashing setup is suitable. Handwashing facilities in a nearby toilet block do not replace those needed at the stall. Make sure staff can also access toilets.
If water runs out or safe handwashing becomes unavailable, stop the affected food handling until you can restore safe facilities.
6. Check deliveries and protect food during travel
Use suitable suppliers and keep invoices or delivery information so you can identify where ingredients came from. Check food condition, packaging, dates and the temperatures relevant to the product. Resolve an unsafe delivery before accepting or using it.
Transport chilled food at 5°C or below, frozen food frozen, and hot food above 60°C. Use equipment capable of maintaining those conditions and check temperatures regularly. Protect food from chemicals, animals and dirty vehicle surfaces.
A chilly bin can be useful if sufficient ice packs and the journey conditions keep food safe. Test the arrangement over the real travel and setup period. Refrigeration may need a separate power supply while the truck is moving or parked.
Practical example: record a chilled filling’s temperature before departure and on arrival. Include loading, travel and setup when assessing any time outside temperature control.
7. Control temperatures through the whole service
Use a clean, calibrated probe thermometer. Measure the food where the risk is, rather than relying only on a cabinet display. The following are key operating limits for ordinary food service; follow your registered plan for product specific processes and corrective actions.
| Stage | What to control |
|---|---|
| Chilled storage and transport | Food at 5°C or below. |
| Frozen food | Keep it frozen. |
| Cooking poultry, minced meat and liver | 75°C for at least 30 seconds, or 70°C for 3 minutes, or 65°C for 15 minutes. |
| Hot holding | Food above 60°C. For holding longer than 2 hours, check every 2 hours. |
| Cooling freshly cooked food | 60°C to 21°C, or room temperature if colder, within 2 hours; then to 5°C or below within a further 4 hours. Maximum 6 hours total. |
| Reheating | Heat quickly to at least 75°C throughout, then serve or hold above 60°C. |
Probe the centre or thickest part and clean and sanitise the probe between uses. Follow your plan’s checking method and remember that cooking colour alone is unreliable.
Cooling and reheating need enough capacity
For cooked fillings, rice and sauces, record the cooling times and temperatures. Divide food into smaller portions, use shallow containers or an ice bath and allow air to circulate. A large pot in a crowded truck fridge can cool too slowly and warm other food. If the required cooling limits are missed, discard the food.
Reheat using suitable cooking equipment, not a bain marie intended to keep food warm. Reheating does not make badly stored food safe. Follow your plan’s reheating instructions and avoid repeated warming and cooling.
Track time when food is outside temperature control
The 2 hour and 4 hour rule applies to relevant food held in the danger zone between 5°C and 60°C. Add together all periods outside control; putting food back in a fridge does not reset the clock.
- Less than 2 hours: use it or return it to refrigeration.
- From 2 hours to less than 4 hours: use it immediately; do not refrigerate it for later.
- 4 hours or more: discard it.
This is different from the controlled cooling process above. When a temperature fails, protect the food, establish its time and temperature history, follow your plan’s corrective action and record what happened. If you cannot establish that it is safe, do not sell it.
8. Know your allergens and labelling obligations
For food sold without a label, required allergen information must be displayed with the food or provided on request. Keep an accurate ingredient and allergen reference for every dish, including sauces, garnishes and bought ingredients. Update it whenever recipes or suppliers change.
Check the actual labels and specifications. Staff should be able to answer an allergy question without guessing and communicate the order to the cook. Consider shared utensils, benches, grills and fryer oil when managing contact between foods. Do not promise an allergen free meal if your process cannot support the claim.
If you sell packaged products, establish which label requirements apply to the specific sale. Depending on the product and exemption, these can include ingredients, required allergen declarations, supplier details, lot identification, dates, storage instructions and nutrition information. Food packaged for direct sale and food supplied to another retailer can have different obligations. Use MPI’s retail labelling guide before printing labels.
9. Train staff and keep the operation clean
Train everyone, including yourself, in the tasks they perform and keep evidence of training. Cover handwashing, raw food separation, allergy orders, thermometer use, cleaning, illness reporting and what to do when a check fails. A course can help, but a certificate alone does not show that staff can follow your specific plan.
Staff with vomiting or diarrhoea should not handle food and generally need to remain away until at least 48 hours after symptoms stop. Follow your plan and health advice for other symptoms, diagnosed infections or situations requiring a longer exclusion.
Set cleaning routines for food contact surfaces, utensils, tanks and equipment. Use chemicals at their instructed concentration and contact time. Remove food debris, protect ingredients from flies and dust, check for pests and store rubbish in secure containers. Stallholders also need suitable protection from weather and contamination.
10. Check gas, electrical and workplace safety
Food registration does not replace your workplace safety responsibilities. Assess burns, knives, slips, manual handling, traffic around the truck and the risks of working in a small space.
WorkSafe’s food truck guidance recommends having the gas installation checked annually by a licensed gas fitter, keeping the truck ventilated, storing gas bottles upright and inspecting gas bottles and connections. Use qualified people for relevant installation and certification work.
Confirm applicable electrical certification, vehicle requirements and event conditions. Organisers may request electrical safety tags, gas documentation, fire protection equipment or insurance evidence. Prepare those documents early and keep exits clear.
11. Keep the required records and arrange verification
Your plan or programme determines what you must record. Relevant records can include temperature checks, cooking and cooling, supplier information, training, illness, thermometer checks, maintenance, water controls, complaints and corrective actions. Not every helpful checklist is a mandatory record: use MPI’s record keeping guidance to identify the required evidence.
For Simply Safe and Suitable, keep required records for at least 4 years. Paper or digital records must be accurate, readable and available to your verifier or MPI. Show what happened, when and who was responsible. Keep access and backups practical for a mobile business.
A new business must arrange its first verification within 6 weeks after registration. Verification takes place after registration when the business is operating. Ask your registration authority promptly if an extension is needed; do not assume that opening later changes the deadline.
Confirm the appropriate verifier with your council. National Programme and custom plan businesses must confirm a verifier before registering and include the confirmation letter. Your verifier will explain when your next visit is due. The timing depends on your food safety plan or programme and the results of previous verification visits.
Review your plan when the menu, equipment, preparation location or business ownership changes. Follow the renewal requirements for your registration. See our guides to food safety records for small NZ kitchens and preparing for verification.
12. Budget for registration and ongoing compliance
Allow for registration and renewal fees, verification, applicable trading permits, equipment maintenance and the Food Business Levy. Council and verifier charges vary, so request a quote that separates these costs.
From 1 July 2026, MPI lists the annual levy at $86.25 plus GST, before any applicable collection charge. Confirm how it applies to your registered operation and sites; a levy is not the complete cost of registering or operating a food truck.
What changes for market stallholders?
A gazebo or weekend market booking does not remove food safety obligations. Commercial stallholders need the system that matches their food activities, as well as suitable handwashing, food protection, transport and temperature control.
Some activities are exempt from registration, including certain sales of sealed shelf stable food, qualifying fundraising and a sale on one occasion in a calendar year by someone who does not ordinarily trade in food. These are specific categories, not a general exemption for small businesses. Do not use a fundraising exemption for an ordinary commercial stall.
Confirm eligibility with the council using MPI’s exemption guidance. Exempt operators still need to provide safe and suitable food and may need event documentation or site permission.
Your practical opening checklist
Use this implementation checklist with your council’s conditions and your registered plan.
- Describe the whole business: list the menu, processes, vehicle, preparation areas, storage and intended trading locations.
- Confirm your system: complete My Food Rules and resolve anything outside the selected plan’s scope.
- Check the fitout: show the council your layout and arrangements for refrigeration, water, washing, wastewater and staff toilets.
- Complete registration: supply the requested documents, pay applicable fees and confirm coverage of preparation locations.
- Arrange verification: confirm the verifier and first visit deadline.
- Secure the site: obtain landowner or organiser approval and the applicable trading permissions.
- Prepare the service: train staff, build your allergen reference, establish records and test temperature control during transport and a realistic workload.
- Check other safety requirements: organise relevant gas, electrical, vehicle and event documentation.
A useful routine for every trading day
Before departure: confirm water and waste capacity, clean equipment, staff fitness for work, working refrigeration and safe food transport.
Before opening: set up handwashing, confirm food temperatures, protect exposed food and make allergen information and records accessible.
During service: follow cooking and holding checks, manage time outside refrigeration, separate raw and cooked food and record corrective actions immediately.
After service: decide which food can safely be kept, complete any required cooling checks, clean and sanitise, dispose of waste correctly and review problems before the next event.
A queue does not change the safety limits. Build a menu and service capacity that your truck can deliver safely on its busiest day.