Street food organisation KERB joins NCASS

Street food organisation KERB has announced that all of its members will automatically become members of the Nationwide Caterers' Association (NCASS), in a bid to improve public confidence in the safety of food sold on the streets.

KERB, which supports new and established street food initiatives, said it would be making NCASS membership a compulsory measure, due to its systems for legal compliance. All NCASS members are provided with the tools, training, resources and government backed "assured advice and guidance" to cook food safely.

Petra Barran, founder of KERB said: "There is a right way and a wrong way to do street food, and we believe in promoting London street food which is safe, trustworthy and a benefit to society. The new partnership will help create an increased best practice benchmark for the industry, showcasing vendors who are professional, considerate and diligent, and of course who produce incredible food. The deal with NCASS will benefit our members by giving them access to the new Primary Authority Partnership, ensuring that all KERB members will not just achieve, but exceed, the legally required levels of diligence, safety and hygiene; they will become an example of best practice across the entire catering industry."

Mark Laurie, director of NCASS said: "This initiative will create an industry benchmark, which will hopefully give the public confidence in both NCASS and KERB members. Street Food is a relatively new UK revolution, but worldwide is an everyday way of buying food. It is an incredibly safe, creative and delicious industry; by committing to these measures, we hope that KERB will act as standard bearers for best practice in the street food industry, demonstrating to the public and authorities that food sold on the streets is not only delicious but as safe, if not safer, than food produced in many cafés and restaurants. We are delighted to be working with KERB to welcome their members on board."