COUNTY TARGETS ILLEGAL VENDORS; INSPECTORS DESCEND ON SCOFFLAWS, CONFISCATE FOOD, PUSHCARTS.Byline: Jesse Hiestand Staff Writer Six Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County health inspectors A health inspector, or Environmental Health Specialist is a public employee who investigates health hazards in a wide variety of locations, then will take action to mitigate or eliminate the hazards. sped into an industrial park Wednesday to block the escape route, jumped out with badges, two-way radios and clipboards at the ready. The target of the surprise raid: meat burritos and other potentially hazardous food Potentially Hazardous Food is a term used by food safety organizations to classify foods that require time-temperature control to keep them safe for human consumption. A PHF is a food that:
``There's no way to keep that stuff hot,'' said Senior Health Inspector Tony Imbrenda as his colleagues loaded about 50 pounds of foil-wrapped burritos into plastic bags for disposal. ``It's like an incubator for growing bacteria in there.'' The sweep was part of a stepped-up campaign against unlicensed food vendors in the northeast San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. as inspectors seized food and pushcarts from vendors who did not have permits. The crackdown is a response to a growth in the number of illegal vendors and complaints from residents and businesses, said Kenneth L. Marks, who oversees the health department's vehicle inspection program. Countywide, there are about 2,700 licensed carts. The department's 25 vehicle inspectors have confiscated con·fis·cate tr.v. con·fis·cat·ed, con·fis·cat·ing, con·fis·cates 1. To seize (private property) for the public treasury. 2. To seize by or as if by authority. See Synonyms at appropriate. adj. about 3,500 carts and utensils in the past year, roughly the same as the year before, Marks said. And by focusing on illegal commissaries that prepare corn and other foods in bulk for vendors, inspectors have hauled away 53,454 pounds of food in the past year, compared with 11,965 the prior year, he said. ``You have food that is exposed, food that is not kept under proper temperature, food that comes from questionable sources, so that presents a far greater risk,'' Marks said. Although connecting food-borne illness Food-borne illness A disease that is transmitted by eating or handling contaminated food. Mentioned in: Campylobacteriosis, Shigellosis to specific food can be difficult, the inspectors said they occasionally get calls from people claiming to have gotten sick from eating food from a pushcart or other street vendor. In some cases, though, people may not realize the source of their illness because they write it off to a 24-hour flu. For every illegal vendor found Wednesday, inspectors came across one who was legal, paying the $200 to $350 fee for a permit, seeking strict health department inspections and storing the cart overnight in a licensed commissary COMMISSARY. An officer whose principal duties are to supply the army with provisions. 2. The Act of April 14, 1818, s. 6, requires that the president, by and with the consent of the senate, shall appoint a commissary general with the rank, pay, and emoluments . The county inspectors said the driver of the Aerostar had not complied with those rules by selling burritos, soda, chips and muffins. The food was hauled away and the driver warned that repeat violations can land him in criminal court. ``Sir, you have been caught out here before. Why do you keep doing this?'' Imbrenda said. The man stared at the ground for a moment and said, ``I have a son and daughter and no work. They have to eat. This is what I do.'' He pledged to stop selling food illegally. An anonymous tip led vendors to the cul-de-sac where they found dozens of factory workers buying lunch. Inspectors said tips often come from hot-truck crews and restaurant owners who have paid for permits, comply with snap inspections, post the results as letter grades - only to be undercut by someone selling a cheaper burrito or corn snack on the street. ``They should have to play by the same rules and the rules now are very hard. The health department is very tough,'' said Galdino Andrade, owner of El Azteca restaurant in Pacoima, who said he has never reported an illegal vendor. The array of carts include shopping carts rigged to sell shaved ice Shaved ice is a slushy form of ice (as opposed to a hard, dense form, e.g. an ice cube or icicle). Many freezers are equipped to dispense either cubed ice or shaved ice, depending on a setting selected by the user, although typically freezer-generated "shaved ice" might more and syrup and others the size of a compact car with propane propane, CH3CH2CH3, colorless, gaseous alkane. It is readily liquefied by compression and cooling. It melts at −189.9°C; and boils at −42.2°C;. grills and rotisseries. The vendors who lost their carts Wednesday can reclaim them by paying a fine of $100 to $500, depending on the size of the cart. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: County Health Inspector Tony Imbrenda, left, writes vendor Miguel Sanchez a citation prior to confiscation confiscation In law, the act of seizing property without compensation and submitting it to the public treasury. Illegal items such as narcotics or firearms, or profits from the sale of illegal items, may be confiscated by the police. Additionally, government action (e.g. of his ice cream cart. John Lazar/Staff Photographer |
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