Thread: CA-County cracks down on illegal food vendors

County cracks down on illegal food vendors
Stephen Wall, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/23/2009 05:31:57 PM PST










Cesar Sanchez, left, of San Bernardino waits for his tacos to be cooked by Enrique Gomez last week at a taco stand on the corner of State Street and Highland Avenue in San Bernardino. San Bernardino County is cracking down on illegal food vendors selling items such as tacos and fruit from roadside stands. (LaFonzo Carter/Staff Photographer)







Enrique Gomez takes the pork and beef from the ice chest in the back of his pickup.
He chops the meat with a butcher knife and tosses it on the makeshift grill.

Moments later, he slips the sizzling meat into warm tortillas.

"The best tacos in town," Gomez says.

For the 45-year-old Mexican immigrant, a roadside taco stand is the only way to make ends meet.

"I have a family to feed and bills to pay," he says in Spanish as he hands a plate of tacos to a customer.

But San Bernardino County officials don't have much of an appetite for Gomez's entrepreneurial spirit.

Authorities are cracking down on illegal food vendors, saying their products pose a public health risk.


"People who are doing it illegally could be making cheese in their bathroom," said Terri Williams, environmental health division chief for the San Bernardino County Public Health Department. "You don't have any way of monitoring and ensuring that it is safe."
Three weeks ago, sheriff's deputies, code enforcement and environmental health officers busted 19 unlicensed food vendors in Bloomington and unincorporated parts of Fontana and Rialto.

The food was destroyed and the equipment was seized as evidence pending a court hearing. The vendors were given citations and notices to appear in court Jan. 18.

Officials say the sweep was prompted by complaints from residents and businesses about the vendors who congregate around swap meets, churches and schools.

Many vendors prepared food in filthy and unsanitary conditions, said sheriff's Sgt. Maggie Finneran.

Raw and cooked meats and perishable foods were stored unrefrigerated, often in open containers.

Meat that was tested was found to be of unknown origin or determined not fit for human consumption, she said, also adding that none of the vendors had access to water or hand or equipment sanitizers.

"Nothing was refrigerated or on ice," she said. "It was incredible to see. There was no sanitation whatsoever."

The sweep didn't come as a shock to the vendors because authorities previously had warned them that they were breaking the law, Finneran said.

County codes prohibit the sale of any food or other product from a stationary location such as a street corner - a practice known as hawking. People who sell items like ice cream from moving pushcarts must have a county-issued business license and a government-issued identification card.

County officials say they issue about 50 citations a year to illegal food vendors. But a fraction of that number show up to court and even fewer end up paying a fine, officials say.

"A lot of times they go to court and plead guilty," Williams said. "They will promise not to do it anymore and they are not fined unless they come back for a second offense."

Williams said the county has a bilingual flier encouraging people not to buy food from illegal vendors.

"It's important to educate people that you're putting your family at risk when you eat from these places," Williams said.

Tamales and other foods sold door-to-door also should be avoided, she said.

"They could be making them outside on a rock or in the dirt," Williams said. "You don't have any assurance."

Latino customers say they are drawn to the beef tongue tacos and other cultural foods sold on the street.

"This is good stuff," Cesar Sanchez, 54, said as he munched on a tongue taco from Gomez's stand just north of the 210 Freeway in Muscoy. "It's country living. It's old-style Mexico."

Gomez said he came to the United States from Mexico 25 years ago and became a citizen following the passage of the 1986 amnesty bill.

He said his regular job repairing shoes at a Los Angeles swap meet is down about 75 percent because of the recession.

So the former Mexico City taco vendor set up shop on a dirt lot in Muscoy a few months ago. He takes home about $150 or $200 on a good night.

He knows what he's doing is illegal.

"Of course I'm worried that I could get caught," said the Fontana resident. "But I'm also worried about my wife and kids going hungry."

About 12 miles to the west, Apolo Ibanez was selling fruit from a cart on a residential street off Valley Boulevard in Bloomington.

His featured item was tejuino, a cold beverage made from fermented corn served with shaved ice.

Even though he has been fined twice, Ibanez said he was back on the street because he needed the money.

"If you don't work, you don't eat," the Bloomington resident said last week in Spanish.

Jose Reyes, the head of operations for La Chiquita Tacos on Valley Boulevard, said that legitimate restaurant owners have asked the county to enforce the rules against illegal vendors.

He said his restaurant competes with roadside vendors who sell tacos as well as fresh fruit and juices for a much cheaper price because they don't pay taxes.

"I understand the way the economy is that people need to survive," Reyes said. "But there is also a way of doing things properly."



http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_13852862

Raw and cooked meats and perishable foods were stored unrefrigerated, often in open containers.

Meat that was tested was found to be of unknown origin or determined not fit for human consumption, she said, also adding that none of the vendors had access to water or hand or equipment sanitizers.

"Nothing was refrigerated or on ice," she said. "It was incredible to see. There was no sanitation whatsoever."

I think i'm going to be sick!! Dirty and disgusting!

Originally Posted by NoBueno

Raw and cooked meats and perishable foods were stored unrefrigerated, often in open containers.

Meat that was tested was found to be of unknown origin or determined not fit for human consumption, she said, also adding that none of the vendors had access to water or hand or equipment sanitizers.

"Nothing was refrigerated or on ice," she said. "It was incredible to see. There was no sanitation whatsoever."

I think i'm going to be sick!! Dirty and disgusting!

I know that when I have been traveling abroad, sometimes I am dying for a McDonalds hamburger. Reminds me of the USA. But...this...is getting ridiculous!

Agree, Captainron. I went through Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Syria, and the food was really suspect--I ended up saving all kinds of critters crawling out of my meals. The poor fly in Turkey had been covered in tomato sauce in my eggplant dish, but the most fun was going to a butcher shop where asking for a piece of meat meant the butcher had to wave away the flies before he could cut.
Needless to say, I lost a lot of weight.
I couldn't sell something I concocted in my kitchen, so why are these folks given that privilege?

I see them selling fruit, water and flowers on streets in Miami Dade County. They don't even have the permit you need to be a street vendor or even know the rules.

Originally Posted by swatchick

I see them selling fruit, water and flowers on streets in Miami Dade County. They don't even have the permit you need to be a street vendor or even know the rules.

I have seen them out on the street in San Francisco selling shellfish. That's right SHELLFISH. Now that could be dangerous.

Originally Posted by redpony353

Originally Posted by swatchick

I see them selling fruit, water and flowers on streets in Miami Dade County. They don't even have the permit you need to be a street vendor or even know the rules.

I have seen them out on the street in San Francisco selling shellfish. That's right SHELLFISH. Now that could be dangerous.

I have seen that in South Florida as well. Usually it is shrimp they sell but I have also seen conch.

Jose Reyes, the head of operations for La Chiquita Tacos on Valley Boulevard, said that legitimate restaurant owners have asked the county to enforce the rules against illegal vendors.

He said his restaurant competes with roadside vendors who sell tacos as well as fresh fruit and juices for a much cheaper price because they don't pay taxes.

"I understand the way the economy is that people need to survive," Reyes said. "But there is also a way of doing things properly."

Yes Jose, I agree 100%. The same can be said for ILLEGAL immigration.

Originally Posted by swatchick

Originally Posted by redpony353

Originally Posted by swatchick

I see them selling fruit, water and flowers on streets in Miami Dade County. They don't even have the permit you need to be a street vendor or even know the rules.

I have seen them out on the street in San Francisco selling shellfish. That's right SHELLFISH. Now that could be dangerous.

I have seen that in South Florida as well. Usually it is shrimp they sell but I have also seen conch.

"Conchas" Yes that is what they were selling. And they were fresh as they had them in water in a bucket. But still it can be dangerous because we dont know where they came from or what they were exposed to along the way. It can be very dangerous.

This is not Mexico or central America....here we have laws and everyone has to abide by them, and this has been going on far too long.

If you are licensed great if you are not you are breaking the law.....There was a time in the U.S. when the only time you seen these kind of vendors was at a fair or public function, we also use to have loitering laws which don't seem to matter any longer Hence "day labors".

Either one of these things is not fair to business owners who pay rent, taxes etc. and people come and camp in front of their business...it is just not right.