Josiah Alexander, 17, of Follansbee cleans the outside of his Giovanni food truck Thursday afternoon on Water Street in Wheeling in preparation for Undo’s Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival, which begins at noon today and runs through Sunday.
Chicken sticks, sausage sandwiches, strombolis and more will serve up hungry patrons at Undo’s Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival starting at noon today at the Wheeling Heritage Port.
Before serving a dish, however, all food vendors must go through an inspection process by health officials from the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department.
Sanitarian Laughlin Johnson said initial inspections will begin today as vendors continue to arrive at the festival site, located on Water Street. Every year around 25 food trucks attend the event, selling hot and cold dishes to the thousands of people who will be attending the festival until Sunday.
Johnson said each vendor must have permission from the health department before selling food at the festival. Each will receive a regular health inspection similar to what a regular restaurant would receive. The two main aspects are cleanliness and making sure they have a water connection, which is provided by the city of Wheeling.
Each day around lunch and dinner time, health workers will conduct spot checks to ensure that the food served is being properly prepared and handled.
photo: Photo by Shelley Hanson
Tony Filberto, chairman of the board of directors for Undo’s Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival, drives a golf cart as he helps vendors find their spots on Water Street at the Wheeling Heritage Port Thursday afternoon. The festival will start today at noon and will last until Sunday.
“Basically, the temperature control is there and we’ll correct anything that might appear out of order,” Johnson said.
Food vendors must keep food out of the “temperature danger zone” to prevent people from getting sick. Cold foods should be kept at 41 degrees or colder. Hot food should be kept at 135 degrees or hotter.
“Whenever these foods enter the danger zone, bacteria have the opportunity to start growing. We make sure that hot food is kept hot and cold food is kept cold,” he said.
Johnson said it would be unusual for a vendor to close during the festival. He noted several years ago that there was a food vendor at the festival that could not open due to red flags.
“It was the first time and they were from out of state. The best way to describe it is that it was not a healthy situation. Their equipment was not clean and you could tell some of the food was not good food – there was a smell,” he said.
photo: Photo by Shelley Hanson
Food vendors prepare their stations Thursday evening for the grand opening of Undo’s Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival at the Heritage Port in Wheeling at noon today.
Johnson said grocers usually work with the health department and health officials try to be mindful of the cooks’ work.
“The vendors cooperate with us. They are very aware that we have to go through; the situation is the same no matter where they go,” he said.
“If we get a complaint from someone that we feel something is not right or needs to be checked, when we hear about it we’ll send someone out to investigate a specific vendor to see what might be going on,” he added.
Johnson said “the goal is to keep everyone safe.”
“Any festival is busy for us,” Johnson said. “The Italian Festival is our oldest and biggest. In the past, it started on Mercatu street and went to the seashore. The beach is an ideal place for a festival, as there is a nice breeze from the river. It’s more open, it fits well for a festival.”
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