Special Events Set-Up Guidance

Food service standards and requirements

Before your special event, review the temporary food service standards. These are the minimum standards, where applicable, to help you provide the safest food possible and reduce the risk of foodborne illness.

Vendors must also comply with the requirements for food vendors at special events and with all applicable sections of the Food Premises Regulation, under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, R.S.O., 1990.

A public health inspector may be onsite during the event to conduct an inspection of the event set-up and vendors' booths. Failure to comply will result in Public Health's refusal to allow operations or lead to enforcement actions.

Temporary food service standards

• Set-up
  • Food preparation area is to be set up on clean pavement or concrete. It should be hosed off with clean water and allowed to dry before set-up.
  • If events are held on grass, gravel, sand or soil, a cover / barrier is needed as flooring to keep the food handling area clean and sanitary
  • Provide a tent / canopy over food handling areas. This does not include the area above a BBQ or deep fryers.
  • All foods stored on-site must be off the ground at all times and protected from contamination
• General food safety requirements
  • Food offered to the public must be obtained from an inspected source
  • Food prepared in private homes is not allowed unless the kitchen has been inspected by Public Health
  • Plan your menu. Limit the number of items and preparation steps to reduce the potential for error and contamination of the food.
  • Single-use / disposable utensils and plates must be used to serve food to the public
• Temperature control
  • Potentially hazardous foods are required to be maintained at 4 C or less (cold-holding) or 60 C or greater (hot-holding)
  • Potentially hazardous foods must be transported at 4 C or less. Coolers packed with ice can be used during transport to maintain cold-holding temperatures.
  • Mechanical refrigeration / hot holding units with accurate indicating thermometers are required on-site
  • A probe thermometer should be provided to check cooking, reheating and holding temperatures of food items
  • Mechanical refrigerators / freezers must keep proper temperatures before being used for food storage. Units must be at 4 C or colder before food is stored inside. Units must maintain safe temperatures for the duration of the event.
  • Talk to a public health inspector before the event to see if coolers packed with ice can be used to assist with proper cold-holding. Consideration may be given to events of shorter length with limited potentially hazardous foods.
  • Hot foods that are prepared off-site must be transported in hot-holding units that can keep required temperatures
  • A means to reheat hot foods, such as a hot plate, BBQ or microwave, to the original cooking temperatures must be available should the temperature of the food drop below 60 C
• Potable water and hand wash station
  • A potable water source must be available for the duration of the event
  • The temporary handwashing station on-site must be accessible to all food handlers
  • Plumbed in hand wash sinks in food trucks or trailers must have separate holding tanks for potable water and waste water. Each tank must have easily readable gauges to determine water levels.
  • Connection to a potable water supply at the event must be through food-grade hoses. In the absence of a plumbed in sink, set up a temporary hand wash station
  • Fill a camping jug or coffee urn with warm potable water. It must have a spigot that can remain open on its own, without having to keep one hand on it.
  • Liquid soap in a dispenser and paper towels must be available
  • A container must be present to collect the waste water. Waste water must be disposed of in a sanitary manner in an approved location.
• Food handlers
  • Food handlers must wash hands with soap and water before handling food, after handling money, after handling raw meats, and every time after their hands may have been contaminated
  • Gloves and hand sanitizers are not a substitute for handwashing
  • Food handlers must not work if they are ill
  • Food handlers must wear clean clothing and adequate hair restraints, such as a hat / hairnet
  • Smoking is prohibited within food preparation areas
• Food handler certification
  • A certified food handler must be on-site at all special events, except where non-hazardous prepackaged food items are offered for sale
  • Food handler certificates (or copies) must be on-site and food handlers must be able to provide proof of identity at the request of a public health inspector
• Food displays and sampling
  • Samples must be kept covered and protected from contamination
  • Set up your space in a way that there is protection of your food from patrons either by distance, sneeze guards, chafing dishes with lids / roll tops, cake domes, plastic wrap, or other equipment that is able to keep food protected
  • Customers must not reach into bowls or other serving dishes to grab samples. Instead, use individual serving portions, tooth picks, etc. 
  • Customers must not be able to double dip with products left on tables. Instead, use squeeze bottles for serving items
  • Potentially hazardous food samples must be held at 4 C or below or at 60 C or higher
• Surface sanitizers and utensils
  • An approved sanitizer must be available on-site at all times (chlorine / bleach or quaternary ammonia). Sanitizer can be made by mixing 1/2 tsp bleach to 1 L water.
  • Wiping cloths must be stored in sanitizer buckets or use single-use disposable cloths / paper towels with spray bottles

  • Bring a utensil wash station (two bins - one containing soap and water and one containing sanitizer and water)
  • Bring clean utensils to the event in a clean, covered container
  • Multiple sets of utensils, such as tongs, spatulas and spoons should be available when items become dirty
  • Dirty utensils / cooking equipment that will not be cleaned on-site, must be stored in containers with lids and cleaned / sanitized at an inspected location
  • Test strips must be provided to check the concentrations of surface sanitizer buckets / spray bottles and manual dish washing sinks

Farmers' market coordinator information

A farmers' market is a central location at which the majority of vendors are farmers or producers offering for sale their own products. Markets within Niagara are reviewed every year by Niagara Region Public Health to determine if at least 51 per cent of vendors are farmers or producers.

In accordance with the Ontario Public Health Standards' Food Safety Protocol, all markets in Niagara are reviewed annually to determine their classification.

General information for farmers' markets

• Farm products

  Farm products are products that are grown or produced on a farm. Typically, this includes fruits, vegetables, herbs, honey and maple products.

• Potentially hazardous food

  A potentially hazardous food is a product that is capable of supporting the growth of pathogenic micro-organisms or toxin producing bacteria. This includes any meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cooked rice, dairy, cider or any other product that contains mixtures of these.

  All of these products must be stored and transported at or below 4 C (40 F) or above 60 C (140 F).

  All potentially hazardous food products must come from a government inspected facility and bear the appropriate stamps, tag or label. Vendors must be able to provide receipts to verify they were obtained from approved sources.

• Home prepared foods at farmers' markets

  The Ontario Food Premises Regulation 493/17 provides certain exemptions for true farmers' markets. For example, where at least 51 per cent of the vendors are farmers or growers.

  One of these exemptions is that vendors at a farmers' market can offer for sale non-hazardous homemade products, such as baked goods and fruit jams / jellies. Home prepared foods are not allowed at community markets or special events.

  To sell home prepared foods, call our environmental health duty officer at 905-688-8248 ext. 7590 or 1-888-505-6074.

  If you're on a private water supply, such as well or cistern, satisfactory water sample test results will be required every year. Water sample bottles and testing is provided free of charge and available at locations across Niagara.

• Product labels

  All foods that are sold in a packaged form are to be labelled with the manufacturer's name, address, phone number and the date prepared.

  Contact the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at 1-800-667-2657 for information about ingredient labelling.

Public Health

Special Events and Fa...

• Special Events Set-Up Guidance
• Special Occasion Permits
• Personal Service Settings Events