The rating system expands to include bakeries, food trucks, carts, meat and fish vendors, and catering businesses
Starting in early 2025, Public Health —Seattle & King County is expanding its popular food safety rating system. You probably recognize it by the green "smiley face" signs you see at restaurants and cafes. Well, now it's going to cover more than just sit-down places. It will include bakeries, food trucks, carts, meat and fish vendors, and catering businesses. This means it will be easier to know if your favorite food truck or street vendor is following health and safety rules and has the proper permits to serve up your go-to snacks.
Right now, mobile food units —like trucks, trailers, and carts— in King County use two different stickers to show they're operating legally:
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Red Plan Review Sticker: This sticker shows that the food truck or cart has passed checks on storing, preparing, and serving food safely. Once it's good to go, it gets the red sticker.
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Permit Sticker: This proves the mobile unit has paid for its yearly health permit and undergoes regular inspections. The color of this sticker changes every year, so you know it's current. For 2024-2025, the sticker will be salmon colored. You'll usually spot it on the back of the truck or cart, but it's not always easy to see.
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While these stickers are important, they’re not always easy for customers to see. That’s why the county is upgrading to something much more visible. Starting in 2025, mobile food units will display the same food safety ratings you’re used to seeing at brick-and-mortar restaurants —right in the window or door for easy visibility.
This new rating system will clearly indicate which vendors are permitted and how well they follow food safety rules, helping customers feel confident that their favorite street food is safe to eat. Industry groups like the Washington Food Truck Association support the move, and food businesses have already welcomed it in a recent survey.
So, watch for these food safety ratings on your favorite food trucks and carts starting next year! It’ll be a quick, convenient way to know you’re getting safe, delicious food from vendors you can trust.
Starting on April 1st, 2025 (the beginning of our next permit cycle), all commissary kitchens in King County must have operating permits. The Food Safety program will also begin inspecting each commissary kitchen at least once every year. We are making these changes to ensure all kitchens follow the same food safety rules across Washington State.
What you need to do
If your commissary kitchen still needs to be reviewed by the Food Safety Department, you must submit plans for approval before getting an operating permit. This step is crucial because it will ensure your kitchen meets Washington's food safety standards.
Why this change is good for everyone
Requiring commissary kitchens to have permits will help in a few important ways:
- We will easily identify which kitchens are approved and which aren't.
- The Food Safety program will provide commissary kitchen owners with regular inspections and technical support.
- We will add approved commissary kitchens to a County-wide map. This will help food business owners find kitchens that meet their needs.
If you own a food business and want to rent a shared kitchen, contact the Food Safety program. You can also check the list of approved kitchens on the King County website.
Permit and fees information
We will classify the issued permit as 'low risk' (PE-6701), with an annual fee of $406. Each permit cycle will start on April 1st and end on March 31st of the following year.
Get in touch
We want to hear from you! If you have any questions or feedback, please contact the Food Safety program at foodsafetystakeholders@kingcounty.gov.
King County’s vibrant food scene is thriving with food trucks, carts, and pop-ups. However, as more unpermitted vendors join in, concerns about food safety and fairness for those who follow the rules have grown.
To address this, King County’s Food Safety Program is taking action. We're focused on keeping everyone safe from foodborne illnesses by ensuring all vendors meet safety standards. When we find unpermitted vendors, we act quickly to protect public health.
We also know many vendors may not be aware of the steps needed for compliance, so we're offering resources to help, including:
- Step-by-step guides and translation services.
- Community meetings and one-on-one consultations.
- A commissary kitchen dashboard to help vendors find approved kitchens.
While we focus on education, we also enforce the rules when necessary. Unpermitted vendors who repeatedly ignore public health regulations may face removal from the streets if they pose a risk.
Fairness for all vendors
We know that vendors with permits face extra costs and challenges compared to those without permits. Our goal is to make things fair by ensuring everyone follows the same rules and supporting all food businesses. By working together, we can create a safe, fair, and successful street food culture in King County.
We’re excited to announce that we’ve added new Active Managerial Control (AMC) Toolkits to our website! They’re here to make food safety easier for you.
 These toolkits are a collection of policies and procedures that every food establishment needs to have in place to prevent and control foodborne illness. If you aren’t confident that your staff can complete proper food safety procedures for health, hygiene, temperature control, and preventing contamination, you can use these toolkits to determine your policies, develop procedures, and train or retrain staff.
Even though the phrase “Active Managerial Control” might sound fancy, using these forms is simple. For example, if your restaurant doesn’t have a plan for cleaning up vomit and diarrhea and you’re unsure where to start, the AMC Toolkit gives you easy-to-follow steps on what to include in your plan.
Every person in charge (PIC) must ensure that all food workers routinely follow safe food handling practices. These toolkits are a great resource for any restaurant operator, helping to create and maintain training, policies, and procedures to keep food safety on track.
Since launching in 2023, our stakeholder meetings have been a great success, thanks to your participation. These meetings cover essential information that everyone in the food industry should know. If you’d like to add any of your employees to this newsletter or the invitation list for our upcoming stakeholder meetings, email us at foodsafetystakeholders@kingcounty.gov.
We look forward to seeing you and your team there!
Five steps to proper handwashing
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Wet your hands with clean, warm, running water and apply soap.
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Rub your hands together between your fingers and under your nails.
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Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the "Happy Birthday" song twice!
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Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
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Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dryer.
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