Food Truck Trouble? Do You Know What You Are Getting?

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Food trucks are a fun and popular way to dine out but how do you know what you are getting?  When you see what CBS4 discovered, you may lose your appetite.

Food trucks bring delicious smells, a variety of food, and incredible recipes passed down from Abuela. A food truck owner presses a mouthwatering steak sandwich. She pulls out a special bottle of sauce. "My special butter cream with something else and something else.  Keeping a little secret from Grandma," she told CBS4's David Sutta who said it's as delicious as she lets on.

Perry Kochavi loves food trucks. "Because you have all these local, maybe family recipes, that you are able to experience out and about rather than having to experiment with a restaurant," he explained.

But a few months ago, Perry's love affair with the trucks ended.  Some bad burritos made him sick.

"I was vomiting.  I had a lot of loose stool," he recalled.

Even worse was his friend had bean in her burrito, despite repeated instructions to the chef she absolutely couldn't have them.

"She's anaphylactic. Anaphylactic, their throats get big and they can't breathe. You have to stab their legs with adrenaline to alleviate the situation. It was very traumatic," said Perry.

When Perry confronted the food truck owner about what happened things didn't get better.  "He started yelling at me, cursing at me, telling me to get out of here. I was shocked. I couldn't believe that I'm getting yelled out for telling this guy he messed up our orders." Perry explained.

His experience is not alone.

Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation has a long list of food truck complaints and lots of people get sick.  Florida conducts surprise inspections to make sure the trucks are cooking up to code. They check things like food temperatures, cleanliness, and whether the cook knows about food safety.  For the most part, food trucks pass.

In a check of inspection reports though we found some serious violations.

For example, the Sabor Criollo Cubano truck, racked up a record 37 violations last summer.  They were cited with everything from not washing their hands to undercooked food.

When asked about it they owner told CBS4 "everything is fine." They had a follow-up inspection. Some issues were resolved and new ones were noted.

A lot of it has to do with who is running these food trucks.

Food critic Jen Karetnick says a lack of experience is what often leads to food truck disasters.

"Some of them are chefs. Some of them are entrepreneurs. Some of them are regular people who just have a great idea," she explained.  "If you know what you are doing and you're used to working in a small space there is not a problem."

How do you know though what you are getting?

Karetnick fired back.  "That's a good question because sometimes you don't.  The trick is you don't always know what you are getting in a standalone brick and mortar restaurant either."

In a sea of trucks at the Hollywood food truck night, three had had serious violations in the last year.

Karetnick smiled.  "It's actually safer than I would have suspected," she said.

Still, you can't ignore the violations.

The most serious violations noted serving food well under safe temperatures.

What happens if food is not kept at a right temperature? "That's what leads to bacteria growing.  E-Coli and Salmonella," Karetnick explained, which can get you quite sick.

In Perry Kochavi's case he never went back.

"I haven't gone back.  I used to go two times a week, three times a week and haven't gone back to food trucks since," he said.

So how do you stay safe?

Karetnick says you can check public records and social media or you can do what she does.  Follow the herd.  "Go where everyone else is going.  If you see a line at that truck, that's where I would go."  In other words, avoid the lonely food truck.

For the most, part food trucks are safe.

At the weekly event in Hollywood roughly 10-percent did have a questionable inspection.  Some people may not be comfortable with that.

CLICK HERE to see look up recent inspections and to see how your favorite food truck faired.

Some Tips For Your Search

• Use "The search by name" option to look up a particular food truck
• If the truck has a popular name, you may get multiple results.  Look under the license type to find: Mobile Food Dispensing Vehicle
• When you click on the name of the truck, you will be brought to an information page.  At the very bottom, click the "View Recent Inspections" option.
• You will be given a list of inspections (in date order). Select the inspection you would like to view.

Violations are divided up into three categories:

• High Priority food service violations are those which could contribute directly to a foodborne illness or injury. High Priority lodging violations are those which could pose a direct or significant threat to the public health, safety, or welfare.
• Intermediate food service violations are those which, if not addressed, could lead to risk factors that contribute to foodborne illness or injury. Intermediate lodging violations are those which relate to specific actions, equipment or procedures that contribute to the occurrence of a high priority violation if left unaddressed.
• Basic violations are those which are considered best practices to implement.