Los Angeles County home cooks can start serving food. What you should know about food safety

Your next meal could be cooked in the private home of a stranger.

Starting Friday, home cooks are being issued health permits that allow them to sell kitchen-cooked meals to customers in most of Los Angeles County. The changes are in accordance with orders from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. micro-enterprise home kitchen program (MEXCO).

Here’s what to expect from home cooks and how to tell if they’re approved.

What is MEXCO?

MEHKO are considered small home restaurants. The program allows residents to prepare, cook and serve potentially hazardous foods (such as meat and chicken). Everything must be produced and sold on the same day, including condiments, sauces and drinks, while maintaining sanitary standards.

The program opens doors to a variety of people. Chefs without access to capital can pursue their restaurant dreams with less risk. Undercover home cooks operating under the radar also have a path to legitimacy.

The food can be eaten on-site (that is, in the person’s home), picked up, or delivered directly to you. You won’t see MEHKO on Uber Eats or DoorDash. The goods must be delivered by someone from the home kitchen, so the state has a list approved food service intermediaries.

Home cooks from all over Los Angeles County can apply, except in Pasadena, Long Beach and Vernon, which have separate health departments that have yet to launch local programs. (Long Beach considering this, however.)

Los Angeles County took a little longer to adopt the program than other regions. California added this program to its health code in 2019. the first one to do this in the countrybut as a voluntary choice. MEHKO programs have now launched in more than a dozen locations in California.

How do I know if MEHKO is approved?

There are a few quick ways to find out. Approved home cooks must display their permits (or a legible copy thereof) during business hours in areas such as the cafeteria or distribution area.

You can also visit the county’s public health website to see test results And short list of approved MEHKO.

Chefs are not allowed to post signs outside of advertising stating that they have an approved home kitchen. county ordinance specifically prohibits this. They can advertise themselves in other ways, such as through social media or newsletters. MEHKO advertisements must include the following specific points:

• Name of local law enforcement agency that issued the permit
• Permit number
• A line that says “Made in your home kitchen.”

Each home can only operate one home restaurant.

What about food safety?

Approved home cooks are exempt from the rating system, so you won’t see this. blue grade “A” in the window.

They are checked at the initial permitting stage and then once a year. If there are complaints, there may be more.

Menu and equipment must be approved. They are not required to use commercial grade tools or supplies, but everything must be kept clean and stored in a sanitary manner.

Preparing, packaging, and handling food should be separated from “household chores” such as preparing a family dinner or washing dishes.

Home cooks must pass an accredited food safety exam for managers as part of the permitting process. All employees, including family members who help, must also have a food service worker card.

MEHKO can sell store-bought ice cream, cheese and pasteurized dairy products. But otherwise they cannot prepare food or drinks that include:

• Raw milk or raw dairy products
• Raw bottled juice from home
• Raw oysters
• Food processes that require a hazard analysis plan, such as sausages, shellfish, and preservation methods.

Home cooks can sell a maximum of 30 meals per day or 90 per week. These amounts may increase if home cooks enroll in other programs.

For places that have not received permission, the health department’s measures will take effect on January 1, 2025.