Customer Raises Food Safety Concerns After Filming What Appears to Be Raw Chicken Stored Outside Food Truck: ‘A Serious Food Safety Issue’

A video circulating online has prompted food safety concerns after appearing to show improper handling of raw chicken outside a food truck. In the video, recorded by a third party, there are two containers of what appears to be chicken sitting on a generator outside of a food truck.

The truck, called Hip-Hop Chicken, has a sign labeling the food as halal. Halal describes food prepared in accordance with Islamic dietary requirements, such as ensuring that the animals the meat comes from have been slaughtered appropriately according to Islamic conditions.

The chicken, picked up by the man running the food truck, is then brought inside. It is unclear how it was handled after that.

The video does not make clear how long the chicken was sitting there, it still raises concern. Even if it was set there just for a moment, it still had no covering on it. The man also does not appear to be wearing gloves while handling the uncovered container.

Improper food handling can increase the risk of foodborne illness

One X commenter wrote, "Probably went inside and put the top tub right down on a work surface."

Food safety experts generally recommend minimizing the amount of time raw poultry remains unrefrigerated and preventing cross-contamination. Businesses serving food to the public are generally expected to follow food safety regulations.

Though we do not know what became of the chicken after, the unsanitary and frankly dangerous practices are more telling than anything else. If the raw food is handled this way, who is to say that it is being cooked properly and handled properly then?

If the food truck is licensed, it would generally be expected to comply with applicable food safety regulations. A video like this could prompt a health department investigation for safety violations if presented to the correct people.

One X user appeared to be wary of purchasing from food trucks in general, commenting, "That’s why you don’t buy food from them."

However, when ran properly, food trucks can be just as good as anybrick-and-mortar restaurant. There really is no reason to stay away from buying from them. This video will continue to keep people like the above user wary, and may contribute to more people being skeptical of food trucks.

The video does not show how the chicken was handled after it was taken inside the food truck. The Daily Dot could not independently verify how long the chicken remained outside or how it was handled after being taken into the food truck.