County agency encourages roadside peddlers to get permits
As part of its effort to bring un-permitted food vendors into
compliance with health rules, the San Benito County Environmental
Health Services agency is detailing the steps roadside vendors need
to take.
”
Food and beverages purchased from un-permitted (illegal) vendors
can make people sick,
”
Nelson said in a press release.
”
There is absolutely no way to guarantee that food sold from
un-permitted vendors is safe to eat.
”
County agency encourages roadside peddlers to get permits
As part of its effort to bring un-permitted food vendors into compliance with health rules, the San Benito County Environmental Health Services agency is detailing the steps roadside vendors need to take.
“Food and beverages purchased from un-permitted (illegal) vendors can make people sick,” Nelson said in a press release. “There is absolutely no way to guarantee that food sold from un-permitted vendors is safe to eat.”
While noting that restaurants and other regulated food facilities are required by law to learn and follow food safety practices and are subject to regular inspection, roadside vendors skirt these rules while peddling produce from the back of a van or on a folding table.
“The Health Department has learned that the fruit is usually cut up in private homes or in the back of a van,” Nelson said. “Groups of people are picked up in San Jose or Los Angeles and other cities and are simply dropped off for the day at various locations in the city of Hollister and in the county.”
The food handling practices of these vendors “do not meet even minimal standards of sanitation,” a statement from the health agency said, noting that the lack of protection from contamination as well as lack of refrigeration is a public health concern.
Officials say that eating this food carries a “significant risk of food-borne illness,” so locals are encouraged to buy from legal vendors, who hold and display a valid health permit and have a brightly-colored sticker affixed to their cart or vehicle from which they sell food.
Nelson encourages non-permitted vendors to contact her agency to get a health permit, which is required whenever food or beverages are sold or given away to the public, whether in restaurants or from mobile carts.
To apply, vendors must fill out an application, pay the required fees, complete the evaluation process – which includes an on-site inspection – and then find a spot where they may operate legally.
Vendors found selling or giving away food to the public without a valid health permit may receive a notice of violation that instructs them to stop immediately and they could also receive a citation and fine for every day the violation continues.
The Environmental Health Services Division will guide anyone wanting to open a food facility through the evaluation process. For more information on obtaining permits or to report the location of illegal vendors, call 636-4035.
