Mobile food unit

A mobile food unit, or MFU, is the term many health departments use for a food truck, food trailer or cart: a food establishment built to be readily moved. Other names include mobile food establishment, mobile food facility and food vending vehicle.

The label matters because rules are written by unit type. Texas splits mobile food units, pushcarts and roadside vendors, and only the first two need sinks. Maricopa County, Arizona sorts units by what they prepare, and NACCHO's best-practices factsheet ranks them by risk, from packaged food only up to cooking raw animal food.

Find out which category your menu puts you in before you design, since it decides the sinks, tanks and hood. The health permit and plan review entries explain the next steps.