NSF Certified Hot Dog Carts – What is this all about?
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If you have previously browsed the DreamMaker Hot Dog Carts website, you may have noticed that many of our hot dogs vending carts are now also available as NSF certified models. The availability of these models is getting especially important these days because there are so many more locations where the state, county or city health department regulations are now requiring a genuine NSF Certified vending cart. It’s becoming quite common these days for us to hear about new states or city municipalities that are updating their regulations to require this special Certification of Quality Achievement. At this point, you may be wondering what exactly is NSF Certification, and what does it mean in relation to a hot dog cart or other mobile food vending cart. Well, to answer that question I would like to discuss this in much more detail for you, and hopefully answer many of your questions. If you still have questions, please leave a comment at the bottom of this article, or for immediate assistance, call us now at: 1-800-408-1802.
NSF International is a privately owned company that was founded in 1944 and is tasked with writing public sanitation standards and creating scientific laboratory testing methods for these specific sanitation standards. “NSF international” is now a very large global company that serves the entire world, but was originally a company that served the United States. NSF International was previously known as the “National Sanitation Foundation”, thus the timeless and lasting moniker “NSF” is still used as the corporation’s primary brand today.
The specific NSF Standard that applies to hot dog carts and more generally speaking, mobile food vending carts is “Standard 59, Mobile Food Carts”. Obtaining the coveted NSF Certified status for five of our most popular models was certainly an involved process that took a tremendous amount of time and engineering to complete. And, although we knew it would be a large and involved undertaking, we can plainly see what the future holds in terms of what the states and health departments are now requiring. The writing was on the wall. More and more health departments and city municipalities do not want cheaply constructed or poorly designed vending carts on their streets and venues serving the public with the potential of food safety issues. DreamMaker Hot Dog Carts is 100% committed to building the very best and safest hot dog carts and mobile vending equipment available anywhere! In addition, we feel it imperative that our quality carts be available to anyone, anywhere! Our NSF Certified Hot Dog Cart models are available right now! Call us today to discuss your particular location or particular needs. Let us answer all your questions: 800.408.1802. We are here to assist you in any way that we can!
Two items titled “rethermalization” and “hot food holding” which are extremely important in the NSF “Standard 59″ have to do with the actual cooking equipment. These two items address food heating and prolonged hot food holding temperatures. “Rethermalization” is a set of testing standards which dictate that a specific piece of cooking equipment’s design, technology and components are capable of bringing food items up the proper mandated temperatures within a specific duration of time. “Hot Food Holding” is another set of testing standards which specifies that a piece of food service equipment can achieve and maintain over long-duration the proper temperatures under less than ideal circumstances (for example, outdoors during freezing temperatures). Proper minimum cooking temperatures are critical and are required to keep food safe for public consumption. NSF International’s laboratory testing is conducted under very strict environmentally controlled conditions that replicate some of the world’s worst outdoor climates, both hot and cold. Extremely hot climates are detrimental to proper refrigeration requirements.
In early 2011, after already completing the entire manufacturing facility audit with NSF inspectors, DreamMaker Hot Dog Carts completed the final phase of rigorous laboratory testing for 5 of our most popular models of hot dog carts at the NSF International testing laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The results, according to our NSF project manager were “unprecedented”. Our carts passed the grueling laboratory certification phase of the testing on the very first attempt. We have been told that this has never been done before with a hot dog cart, or for that matter most any “rethermalization equipment”. NSF International has awarded their prestigious NSF 59 Certification to DreamMaker Hot Dog Carts for all 5 of the models submitted.
As you should know, food must be cooked to specific minimum temperatures to make sure that any bacteria, microorganism or other potential food-borne pathogens are properly killed and sterilized before human consumption. The strict scientific testing that has been conducted on five of our hot dog carts at the NSF International Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan specifically certifies that DreamMaker Hot Dog Carts manufactures food vending carts that are capable of proper rethermalization and “hot holding” of potentially hazardous foods at the proper safe temperatures required by all health departments across the United States and the world over.
Another of the major concerns that is addressed in the NSF Standard for mobile food carts is, of course, cleaning and sanitization. When you’re cooking food in a kitchen, occasionally you might drip or spill food ingredients onto your counter or your stove top. Obviously, in the kitchen it is also very easy to quickly use a sponge and just wipe things up. Your counter top and your appliances were designed to be very easy to clean. This topic is certainly among the messages that your health department is concerned with… How easily can the exterior, interior, ice bin, storage compartments and other areas of your mobile food cart be properly cleaned? Further, how easy is it to get it 100% perfectly clean, every single time? The answer is… Quite easily with an NSF certified cart. Here is why. The NSF Standard mandates criteria for a food vending cart that include specifications which denote very specific tolerances, techniques and materials that can utilized for filling all cracks and crevices. It is in these potential crevices that food can get stuck and cannot be properly cleaned and sanitized. Small bits of old spilled food buildup that cannot be readily cleaned will deteriorate and rot. In a very short time mold and bacteria can form. And that is certainly an issue that health departments are concerned about. DreamMaker Hot Dog Carts uses a special food grade silicone material to fill and seal all of the cracks and crevices that are in “food splash zones”, where food drippings and crumbs could potentially get trapped. We eliminate this completely and create a professional hot dog vending cart that can be easily and properly sanitized to help ensure public safety and help eliminate the potential for creating food-borne illness.
On the subject of cleaning and sanitizing, another very important rule of NSF certification is that all door or hatch hinges be capable of being completely disassembled for proper and thorough cleaning and sanitization. As you may know, a standard piano style, continuous hinge cannot be disassembled. This means that if food items such as grease, ketchup, sauce, pickle relish or some other semi-liquid type food item were to be spilled onto a piano type hinge, it would be extremely difficult to properly clean. Within a very short time, bacteria could begin to grow inside the hinge where it would be nearly impossible to properly sanitize. As previously mentioned, this is just another one of the areas that the health department is concerned about when they talk about requiring NSF certification. It mandates a cart must be specially designed, manufactured and tested to be able to be more easily and properly sanitized during and after use. Also, it has been designed to eliminate problem areas where food particles can be trapped and could promote bacterial growth. It is for this reason that all standard type “piano hinges” are specifically forbidden by the NSF rules. DreamMaker Hot Dog Carts utilizes a very specialized (and somewhat expensive) solid stainless steel hinge that is extremely durable and can be completely disassembled. These special NSF approved hinges are used on every single door on the certified hot dog cart models. They are extremely easy to disassemble. Simply remove one small retainer screw and lift off your doors and cleaning is now a breeze. A quick and easy spray and wipe and you are all done. This one item alone will really make your health inspector smile… And making your health inspector smile is golden!
DreamMaker takes great care to make sure that our NSF International certified hot dog cart models are properly inspected, labeled and identified to the strict NSF specifications. Our NSF certified vending carts will come complete with the proper documentation, identification and specification “data plate” and, of course, the special tamper resistant seal properly affixed to the cart (the blue NSF circle logo with ID number). Be sure to address these items with any manufacturers and discuss these important features that are required for a “genuine” and complete NSF certification.
The special features that I detailed above are just a few of the important reasons that make a DreamMaker NSF Certified Hot Dog Cart really special, and a truly amazing piece of equipment. It is a very small investment for all of the fantastic additions that are incorporated into these models. Also, the NSF Cart will hold its value and consumer demand considerably longer. Our vast experience has shown us that an NSF Certified vending cart can be licensed and approved for use, nearly anywhere. We have been told repeatedly that our vending carts are highly praised by health inspectors everywhere.
In my next installment discussing “NSF Certified Hot Dog Carts”, I will address even more of the specific details and features that make the NSF Certified models by DreamMaker Hot Dog Carts so desirable and more valuable. If you can afford the slight price difference, I would highly recommend going with an NSF model. They have many great advantages that will reap benefits long into the future. Go NSF and “future proof” your hot dog cart investment!
If you have any questions at all, we would be glad to answer them for you. Leave a comment below, or call us today 1-800-408-1802.
You can find more information regarding NSF International and Hot Dog Carts on our website.
