OC health inspectors crack down on L.A. food trucks

Many of them were given temporary permits by the county's Environmental Health Division. Those permits are now expiring and the food truck operators have to come into compliance. But to be in compliance is a complicated and expensive process that the L.A. truck people aren't interested in pursuing. That includes being outfitted with mechanical refrigeration and a three-compartment sink. "This is it. We're done," Michele Grant, chef/co-founder of the popular Grilled Cheese Truck, told the Register.

While the food is always kept at safe temperatures, that cooling method isn't accepted under newer state codes for mobile food trucks. In Los Angeles, The Grilled Cheese Truck can sell under a "grandfathered" permit that pre-dates the state's new mandates, Grant said. But in Orange County, trucks can no longer skirt those new policies. Grant said she leases her trucks and has no plans to upgrade them with mechanical refrigeration. "My hands are a bit tied on what we can do on the inside of the truck," she said. Other trucks with temporary permits set to expire soon include Greasy Wiener, Ludo Truck, Shrimp Pimp, Sweet E's Bake Shop, Two Dudes One Truck, White Rabbit and Grill 'Em All, according to OC Fair officials and interviews with those truck operators.