Selling prepared food? Make sure you know the rules, says health unit

Article By Jack Sutton Published August 26, 2025
Article Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/selling-prepared-food-make-sure-you-know-the-rules-says-health-unit-1.7617409

Full scope of food vendors operating out of homes and rental kitchens hard to track, MLHU says

Getting all the proper certifications and inspections to start a pierogi business was tough, Liudmyla Potomkin says, but she feels good knowing that she has all the knowledge and experience needed to run a safe business.  (Submitted by Liudmyla Potomkin)

A recent surge of food vendors operating out of homes and shared kitchens has proved challenging for health officials to keep track of, which it says could potentially lead to higher risks of food-safety concerns. 

Since about 2019, the Middlesex London Health Unit (MLHU) has seen a rapid increase in home-based kitchens and vendors operating in shared rental spaces, often providing delivery-only services, according to a report from their Board of Heath. Additionally, more vendors are selling food at events and first-timers are not always aware of the regulatory requirements. 

Food vendors are required to notify the health unit of their intent to operate. When they fail to do so, it gets harder for MLHU to keep track of where food is being prepared and sold, and where high-risk food preparation may be taking place. To help curb this, the health unit is raising public awareness about what legal requirements exist for food vendors, regardless of where they operate. 

When Liudmyla Potomkin, co-owner of Wow Ukrainian Pierogies, hears about businesses not notifying MLHU to get an inspection, her first thought is "that's a bad idea," she said.

"Food safety is so important for all people, for all businesses," she said. "It's food. It's so important for health." 

Her pierogi shop now operates out of multiple brick-and-mortar locations, but when they first opened in 2022, Potomkin and her husband operated out of a kitchen in their Strathroy basement. Getting all the paperwork in order along withconverting that space into a kitchen that met regulatory standards took months, she said. 

"We didn't have any information about starting a business here, or what we needed to do for the commercial kitchen," she explained. "But we went step-by-step." 

After receiving their certification and installing their new kitchen, the health unit inspected the premises, Liudmyla Potomkin said. (Submitted by Liudmyla Potomkin)

The language barrier made the certification exams difficult, she recalled. The couple had just recently relocated from Ukraine, where they ran a café. Despite having years of food-handling experience, Potomkin found the regulations in Ontario were far more complicated. 

After receiving their certification and installing their new kitchen, the health unit inspected the premises. They didn't pass the first time, Potomkin said, but MLHU helped them fill in the missing pieces until everything was up to standard. 

Getting all the proper certifications and inspections was tough, she said, but she feels good knowing that she has all the knowledge and experience needed to run a safe business. 

Providing notice is a legal requirement, MLHU says

There is a legal requirement for all food vendors to provide a notice of intent to the local health unit, Dave Paveltic, the manager of food safety and health hazards at MLHU, explained. 

"Without having awareness of who's operating, it's really difficult to understand the volume of operators out there as well as the complexities and the nature of the issues that may be present at the food premise," he said. 

Knowing who is operating where, and what type of food they're preparing allows MLHU to perform risk assessments and prioritize which businesses need urgent inspection, he explained, for example those that include a lot of complex steps in their preparation process, as opposed to lower-risk premises where only foods like baked goods are prepared. 

It's possible that some vendors may not fully understand the regulatory requirements, Paveltic said, adding that exemptions for low-risk items from 2021 may have led to some confusion. 

MLHU attends festivals and events to meet new vendors and make sure they're aware of all the requirements, Dave Paveltic said. (Jack Sutton/CBC)

The health unit is working to engage with the community and will also continue connecting with vendors in-person, he said, like heading out to special events where food is being sold. 

"We can offer support through any kind of food safety questions that folks have," he said.  

For community members buying food, Paveltic recommends asking questions to ensure safety. With a growth in businesses advertising food delivery on platforms like Facebook Marketplace, with no obvious location given, people can ask the seller if they have been inspected or if the health unit is aware of their operation, he said. 

For anyone considering opening a food business, on the other hand, whether out of their home or a shared kitchen, or even a traditional restaurant, Potomkin offered one piece of advice after going through the experience herself: study the rules. 

"Take it step by step," she advised. "It might take a long time, but if you have a food handling certificate, if you have information about commercial kitchens and food safety, you will have success."