Halal Pitt food cart opens again after reinspection

An Allegheny County Health Department inspector returned to Oakland’s halal food cart Friday for an owner-requested inspection, clearing the cart to reopen one day after it was ordered to close.

Halal Pitt, the food cart that parks on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Bouquet Street, did not receive a violation in any county food safety assessment categories when the inspector visited Friday, allowing the cart to resume business on the same day.

In an initial Thursday inspection, the cart was cited for three high-risk violations, four medium-risk violations and two low-risk violations, qualifying it for red placard status.

Violations witnessed by the inspector included improperly heated food and employees failing to wash hands after handling money. In addition, no one at the cart was able to produce a commissary agreement, a letter showing proof that the cart has permission to use an established restaurant kitchen to store food.

According to the Friday inspection report, all violations had been fixed when the owner-requested reinspection took place.

The ACHD will inspect the location unannounced again within the next 30 days.