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Street food vendors who do not get their businesses registered with the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) by mid-November will have their carts impounded. This comes as the KSMAC seeks to regulate the street food sector.

"The KSAC will be in a position where we will do all our internal processes, and have the necessary forms for you to fill out by September. When we're done with our thing by the end of September, we'll only have a six-week window for everybody to come and register. After this, we're going to have a zero-tolerance approach. If you're not registered with the KSAMC, we will take away your cart, and impound you," Daune Smith, chairman for the commercial services committee, said.

Speaking with vendors at the first in a series of consultative meetings on Friday, Smith said the regulation of the street food industry is important to maintain public health and public order.

"It's a public health thing, it's not a revenue driver for us. You'd be surprised to know the amount of people who come here on a daily basis, or write to us that they have a cart, and they want to regularise themselves, but there is really no mechanism for them to do that, so they have no choice but to go on the streets, so we're now fixing that problem," he said.

"We need to know the name of the owner of the cart, the name of who is selling the food, and that persons who are selling the food has to have a food handler's permit; and we also want to know where you're getting the food from. We're trying to protect everybody", he added.

Smith said the regulations will also include specific vending zones for food vendors. "We're going to have established vending areas. So when you come down here, we'll have a form available. You fill out the form, you tell us where you want to operate from, you pay your nominal fee, we do our checks and balances, and you get your approval; and you operate there freely, and nobody can come there and harass you," he said.

"It is not an initiative meant to mash up anybody's business, we're actually encouraging the street food business, but it has to be structured, it has to be organised. What currently obtains cannot be continued," he added.

Smith said the KSAMC has not yet settled on the cost for registration, but said it will be affordable.