ATTACK ON FOOD VENDORS HEALTH OFFICIALS TARGET VALLEY STREET PEDDLERS.

Byline: Jesse Hiestand Staff Writer

SYLMAR - Washing down homemade soft cheese with cupfuls of raw milk, whiskey and chocolate mix, about 50 people mingled on the back patio of Crisantos Corona's home in Sylmar recently.

Corona said these were friends and family joining him for a bite to eat.

But an undercover police inspector who raided the home contends Corona was running an illegal restaurant, part of a thriving trade in food that is prepared in bathtubs, garages, back yards and private kitchens.

It reflects what authorities say is a dangerous collision between culture and health laws that is occurring increasingly across the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles.

``There's an upward spiral in growth of these activities because the penalties are not that great, and people get away with it until they're punished to the point of learning a lesson,'' said Art Tilzer, consumer protection bureau director for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

Corona, 64, was charged with a misdemeanor on allegations he was selling milk products without a license and dealing in milk products that do not conform to state standards. The two counts each carry penalties of up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

At his arraignment, scheduled for April 12, he will plead not guilty to selling the food, Corona said. He said he was giving away the cheese, which he made with surplus milk.

``The family just spends the weekends here, and I would make food for them,'' Corona said, adding he has no concerns about the dangerous of consuming the raw, unpasteurized milk and cheese.

Authorities said Corona had crossed the line from making homemade food for private consumption to running an illegal business.

``It wasn't necessarily an elaborate setup but more or less a cheese-manufacturing plant,'' said Deputy City Attorney P. Greg Parham. ``There were farm animals in the same back yard and cheese molds cut out of cylinders from a laundry detergent bucket.''

< Customers don't care

In many cases, authorities receive tips or complaints that lead them to suspected illegal food producers, as in the case in Sylmar. But these tips are not always easy to come by.

``The illegal trade in the soft cheese is done primarily in communities that either distrust the system, have a language barrier or for whatever reason don't report the incident so there's no way to track it,'' said Michael Spear, director of county health's district environmental services.

Spot checks by inspectors yield tons of improperly or illegally prepared food.

Last year alone, the vehicle inspection team disposed of nearly 77,000 pounds of confiscated food, up from 45,000 pounds in 1998 and 34,000 pounds in 1996. That includes food from catering trucks and unlicensed pushcarts.

In some cases, confiscated carts lead to large-scale operations in which tamales, burritos, fresh-cut fruit, roasted corn and other food items are prepared for sale from car trunks, swap meets and parking lots.

The sharp rise in confiscations is attributed to both stepped-up enforcement and the growing popularity of these convenience and cheap street-corner snacks.

``It's a quick way to turn over money with limited expenses on equipment and a lack of supervision,'' Tilzer said.

< Dangerous snacks

Cases of food poisoning are difficult to track because often victims don't know what made them sick, officials say. But beyond a stomachache, the health risks for patrons can be deadly, experts say.

The high-moisture and low-acid composition of the fresh cheese, or queso fresco, like that sold behind the Sylmar house make it susceptible to bacterial contamination and spoilage, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Using raw, unpasteurized milk can encourage bacteria like salmonella and listeria to grow, leading to contamination that cannot be detected by sight, taste or smell.

Problems can range from stomach cramps and diarrhea to severe illness and even death in the elderly, infants and those with impaired immune systems.

Owing to this danger, the state last February launched a campaign to educate the public on the risks of cheese made by unlicensed manufacturers.

A month after that campaign, state and county health officials, along with officers from the LAPD's Foothill Division, raided the house in the 15000 block of Bledsoe Street in Sylmar.

< Street sales illegal

More often than not, however, illegal food sales occur in plain view - on the street.

For $20 a day, Ramiro Jutieres wheels a mobile kitchen - a wooden cart grafted to a mountain bike - through the streets of Pacoima, selling bags of deep-fried flour choitos and elotes, a traditional Mexican corn treat, for $1 apiece.

Slathering mayonnaise, butter and seasoned salt on a steaming corn cob, the 20-year-old native of Mexico acknowledged that he works without a permit. A camping cooler holds the corn in hot water, and the mayonnaise is wiped on with a stick punched through the lid of a restaurant-size jar.

But none of his customers is complaining.

``I trust him - everything's clean, and in the stores it would cost a lot more,'' said regular customer Jorge Huerta, 24, of Pacoima. ``In Mexico, they sell it like this. It's a tradition.''

Jutieres could be fined or have his cart confiscated if caught, but he says he does not worry because he has had no run-in with authorities in his first month on the job.

``There's no work. I'd prefer doing roofing work,'' said Jutieres, who does not believe his customers run the risk of food poisoning. ``Everything's clean. I don't worry about it.''

< Bake sales, church events

The scope of these illegal operations varies, from those who sell from a pushcart on weekends to make a few extra dollars to groups of individuals who work in almost a production-line style.

``One time, I had a guy selling steaks adjacent to the Watts Jazz Festival,'' Spear said. ``He set up a barbecue in his front yard. Of course, we caught him right away because it was pretty obvious.''

One fairly large operation shut down about eight months ago in San Fernando had rodent infestation in the area where corn was stored, Tilzer said.

The corn would be cooked in big pots over burners, roasted on barbecues and then sold from carts, he said.

Certainly, homemade food is not illegal to make or give away at a gathering like a backyard barbecue, health officials said. The line is crossed when it is sold to the public.

Charity functions like church bake sales straddle that line.

``If they're doing it for their congregation, that's one thing; it's like a private party,'' Spear said. ``But if they're trying to sell it to the public, they should prepare it from the church kitchen and not at home.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Nursing student Erica Mora, eating a street vendor's corn, likes seeing her food being made.

(2) Street vendor Ramiro Jutieres, 20, sells corn slathered with butter and grated cheese to Pacoima residents, saying he provides good value.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer