HONOLULU - The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) Food Safety Branch (FSB) issued a red placard and immediately shut down King Kong Lunch Wagon, (License Plate: 754 TNX) located at 1818 Kanakanui St., due to operating without a valid permit.

The food establishment, operated by Yung En Chen, received the red placard on Sept. 17, 2024 and must remain closed until the establishment submits a new food establishment permit application and is approved for permitting following a pre-operation inspection.

During a complaint inspection on Sept. 17, 2024, the DOH inspector noted a critical violation:

The establishment no longer has access to the support kitchen per the support kitchen owner, rendering the food establishment permit invalid. Hawai?i Administrative Rules (HAR) 11-50, defines support kitchen as “a food establishment that provides facilities or services in support of another food establishment for cleaning, storage, food preparation, cooking, cooling, reheating, servicing water supply or wastewater disposal.”

The DOH is requiring the food establishment to take the following corrective actions before it can reopen:

Establishment must have a valid support kitchen and submit a new food establishment permit application and must be inspected and approved for permitting.

Food establishments such as mobile units require support kitchens. This is due to the requirement that food must be adequately protected during preparation, storage, cooking and cooling in a permitted facility with the proper refrigeration and cooking equipment to ensure food safety. Preparing food without access to a DOH-permitted support kitchen renders that food as an unapproved source since the food would not be prepared in an approved environment as required by law.

The DOH FSB protects and promotes the health of Hawai‘i residents and visitors through education of food industry workers and regulation of food establishments statewide. The branch conducts routine health inspections of food establishments where food products are prepared, manufactured, distributed or sold.

For more information on the department’s placarding program go to http://health.hawaii.gov/san/