Mayor John Tory says there is no need for Toronto to review its food truck regulations right now, despite a federal competition agency urging cities across Canada to give their rules a rethink.

Tory said there is a large number of food trucks operating in the city, two years after the city revamped its regulations on mobile food vending permits.

"We don't have any plans to reopen the food truck rules in the short term," Tory said in a statement.

"We've just put them in place quite recently. We've got to give these rules a chance to work and I believe we're seeing those council-approved changes already leading to robust competition and increasing participation."

A customer looks at a food truck menu in Toronto. (CBC) In a recent news release, the Competition Bureau encouraged municipalities to be more welcoming of food trucks to encourage fair competition.

The Bureau analyzed how Canadian cities regulate food trucks and it found significant differences. It questioned the rationale for certain food truck regulations when those rules seem excessive or designed to protect the interests of restaurants.

"While Canadian consumers have been quick to embrace the food truck movement, the response from municipalities and incumbent food service providers has not always been so welcoming," the Bureau said.

Eating at a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FoodTruck?src=hash">#FoodTruck</a> is fun, but choosing from multiple <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FoodTrucks?src=hash">#FoodTrucks</a> is much better! Fair <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/regulation?src=hash">#regulation</a> is the key! <a href="https://t.co/F6w5UNQgz1">https://t.co/F6w5UNQgz1</a> —@CompBureau "Municipal regulations often limit where food trucks can be located, the number of continuous hours they can operate and the number of providers permitted in a given area. While these regulations can serve legitimate urban planning or other policy goals, some restrictions may go further than necessary. Restricting the ability of food trucks to compete in the food service industry can reduce consumer choice and stifle innovation."

Julien Brazeau, associate deputy commissioner of the Competition Bureau, appeared on Metro Morning on Tuesday, saying relaxing regulations would mean more choice for consumers.

He also praised Toronto for what it has done so far to allow food trucks to thrive.

"To be honest, Toronto is, I would say, one of the leading cities in terms of food truck regulation," Brazeau said.

Toronto eased food truck regulations in May 2015, prompting a 400 per cent increase in the number of food trucks roving around on any given lunch hour. The number of trucks went from 14 to 56.

Among other things, the city reduced how far the trucks have to be from restaurants from 50 metres to 30 metres and increased the number of hours the trucks can operate in a single location from three to five hours. It also stipulated that no more than two food trucks are allowed on a city block.

Food trucks, restaurants can co-exist

Brazeau said concerns, however, linger about the rules in Toronto and elsewhere.

"We believe that municipalities have to balance a whole host of public policy interests. And there are legitimate policy interests there that require regulation. What we took a look at specifically is the regulation that is imposed on food trucks above and beyond what would be applied to bricks and mortar restaurants," he said.

"Our concern is where regulation might give incumbents or one aspect of the industry a leg up over other players. That was the lens through which we looked at the issue."

He said it's important to remember that operating a food truck may be a stepping stone for an entrepreneur.

"We think there is a value proposition for both restaurants and food trucks where both can coexist in the industry. And we see that for some individuals, opening a food truck is the way to eventually opening a bricks and mortar restaurant. They are able to gain a following and gain revenue."

The Bureau says more than 2,200 mobile food services operators in Canada are expected to earn more than $300 million in revenue this year.