Warning: Almost lost my food truck license over a $45 grease trap filter

Last month I got hit with a surprise inspection from the health department here in LA and they flagged my grease trap immediately. Turns out the filter I had been buying from a random online supplier was way too thin and wasn't catching solids properly. The inspector told me if I had waited another week they would have shut me down and fined me $500. I had been using that same cheap filter for about 6 months because it saved me $15 per order compared to the proper ones from my regular supply house. Spent the whole next day cleaning out congealed grease from the trap and swapping to the right filter from a local restaurant supply place on Alameda. The worst part is I knew better since I managed a commissary kitchen 3 years ago that had the same issue. Has anyone else gotten burned by cutting corners on stuff like this or is it just me?

2 comments

2 Comments

christopherwilliams1mo ago

Damn, $15 per order? That's wild. You almost lost your whole license over fifteen bucks. I get trying to save money but that's a huge risk for basically nothing. A health inspector coming down hard on a grease trap is no joke, and cleaning out congealed grease is a nightmare I wouldn't wish on anyone. People don't realize how fast that stuff builds up and turns into a solid block. That cheap filter sounds like it was basically just letting everything through. Glad you caught it before they pulled your license, that would have been a disaster for your whole business.

kai_west1mo ago

What kind of filter was it that caused all that?