A photo of decaying meat submerged in a gelatinous slop of grease and oil was part of a recent presentation given to the Merced County Board of Supervisors.

While that might sound like a disturbing episode of “Kitchen Nightmares,” Merced County Environmental Health officials told leaders it’s par for the course for health risks they encounter when busting food vendors who are operating without proper permits.

“As you can see the meat that the vendors are serving (is) probably multiple days old, rancid, putrid, pretty gross,” Amanda Duran, Merced County deputy director of environmental health, told the board, during a recent update of her department’s efforts to target unlicensed food vendors.

Merced County in recent months has been teaming up with cities, local law enforcement and other agencies to address the rise of unlicensed vendors countywide – often in public areas like parking lots, street corners and community parks.

So far, environmental health has conducted 13 sweeps of unlicensed food vendors since October, with 27 more scheduled through the end of the fiscal year, Duran said.

Duran, along with Mark Mimms, Merced County’s director of community and economic development, said their efforts are important due to potential public health risks associated with unlicensed food vendors.

Plus, county officials say they have a responsibility to address those operators who aren’t playing by the same rules of legitimate businesses.

Items Confiscated During Sweeps

The food impounded during those 13 sweeps included 384 pounds of meat in serving trays, 18 pieces of rotisserie meat (each weighing around 100 pounds), 18 large bags of cheese, 89 containers of toppings, 21 containers of drinks and 16 cases of tortillas, Duran said. She said much of the meat was “contaminated, raw and not fit for human consumption.”

During the presentation, Duran also showed a photograph of a maggot that had been inside of container filled with cheese, tortillas and pineapples.

There’s also no shortage of equipment county officials have confiscated, including more than 20 cooking carts, 19 tables, six generators, canopies and a variety of other items.

“(We take) pretty much everything to keep them from operating that night,” Duran said.

Penalties vary, depending on the violation. County officials say they are charging vendors three times the cost of what it would be to get a permit. Duran said a typical invoice for one unlicensed pop-up vendor can range from $2,500 to $3,500, factoring in costs like the number of county staff involved and time spent.

Unpaid penalties accrue month-over-month before eventually going to a collections agency.

Over $52,000 in fines have been sent out to unlicensed vendors since October, although Duran acknowledged the county hasn’t collected on much of that so far. She said Merced County is imposing the highest penalties allowed under state law.

Frustrating Issue for County and Licensed Vendors

In terms of being able to enforce the rules consistently, county officials say they recently hired two staff members devoted to that purpose.

Duran explained the county’s role, besides enforcement, is to also educate the public about the steps necessary in order to run a legitimate business, and how to spot unlicensed food vendors.

“(The new enforcement unit) will be focused primarily on unpermitted food vending, but they will also be helping with surfacing sewage complaints (and) hazardous waste which (is ) tied into a lot of our cannabis growth,” Duran said.

She said confiscated equipment will be returned to the owners, once their fines are paid.

Supervisor Scott Silveira, whose district included Los Banos and communities on Merced County’s westside, said the issue is frustrating for legitimate businesses, particularly because the unlicensed vendors will sometimes disappear “for a day or two” and then come right back.

“The struggle is real (for licensed vendors),” Silveira said. “They ask the question ‘why am I going to pay and get all my stuff done correctly, when all these other people are out there who aren’t doing it correctly?’ And really competing against them one-on-one.”

Board Chair Josh Pedrozo said the dangers associated with foodborne illnesses are a real concern. Pedrozo also worries about the vendors popping up in areas with lots of vehicle traffic.

“We’re starting to see more of it pop up, and it’s troubling,” Pedrozo told Duran, adding “I appreciate the effort and keep it up, because it’s something we really need to focus on.”

About the Reporter

Victor Patton is editor-in-chief of The Merced FOCUS.