(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(1) INTERMITTENT FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT. Any entity that has a physical address within Mobile County that does not prepare or serve food in its regular line of business but prepares and serves food on an intermittent basis for a period of time not to exceed three consecutive days per week.
(2) TEMPORARY EXEMPT EVENT. A special occurrence or celebration that is community wide in conjunction with a local or regional celebration, tradition, or cultural event.
(b)(1) An intermittent food service establishment shall complete an online application on the Mobile County Health Department web page at no charge, not later than five business days prior to the event for an exemption of food service at a temporary exempt event.
(2) The following information shall be provided in the online application to the Mobile County Health Department for any temporary exempt event:
a. The event site location.
b. The name of each food vendor.
c. A general description list of foods to be sold from each food vendor.
(3) An exemption shall not be construed as allowing the sale of low acid foods in a hermetically sealed container, such as home-canned vegetables, when such food is not prepared in a permitted establishment.
(4) Any operator of a temporary exempt event shall have a food handlers card issued by the Mobile County Health Department, a handwashing facility, and a plan for adequate garbage and waste containment.
(5) An intermittent food service establishment may not be granted more than four exemptions in any calendar year, at a single, specified location in conjunction with a recurring temporary exempt event.
(6) Other than as provided for in this section, the Mobile County Health Department shall not regulate an intermittent food service establishment that prepares food in association with a regional celebration, tradition, or cultural event, when approved by a local municipality as such, or in the case of an area not located in an incorporated area, when approved by the county commission, when the establishment does not prepare, sell, or distribute food on a regular basis or in its regular line of business.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b), a church that is tax exempt and that conducts intermittent food sales for fund raisers, and not as an ongoing or continuous food sales operation, shall be exempt from the regulatory requirements of the Mobile County Health Department, provided that all such food sales are conducted on the premises of the church.
(d) Notwithstanding subsection (b), food establishments, including bars that serve only beverages and ice, may boil whole crawfish, for public consumption, outside on the premises of the establishment. The permitted establishment shall be issued an exemption by the Mobile County Health Department when the requirements of subdivisions (2) and (4) of subsection (b) are met.
Last modified: May 3, 2021