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County task force urges coordinated enforcement and education for unpermitted food vendors
Summary
A Stanislaus County presenter urged cities to join a countywide task force combining education and enforcement to address unpermitted roadside and commissary-based food vendors that, the presenter said, pose food-safety and public-safety risks.
A Stanislaus County environmental health director told the Hughson City Council that unpermitted food vendors operating from roadside tents and unlicensed commissaries present significant risks to public health and public safety and called for a coordinated countywide response.
"Our goal is not to discourage entrepreneurship or penalize those trying to earn out," the presenter said, describing an "education-first" approach that pairs outreach with enforcement when necessary. He described inspections that found lack of handwashing, improper refrigeration, exposed propane tanks and large-scale commissaries storing food on the ground and next to chemicals.
The presenter said the task force will emphasize consistent enforcement alongside voluntary compliance, and proposed memoranda of agreement to allow cities to perform inspections under a single operating manual. He described confrontations during inspections and said evidence and seized equipment are held by the Department of Environmental Resources pending disposal after 30 days.
Council members pressed staff on practical issues: whether vendors are tracked by license plates and whether nonprofit fundraising setups would be required to get permits. The presenter said law enforcement does record plates when possible and that special-event nonprofit vendors still must obtain health permits and hand-washing facilities unless the city’s ordinance creates a specific exemption.
The council welcomed the presentation and was invited to comment on the draft memorandum of agreement and operating manual; staff said the draft documents are available for review and that the task force meets weekly to share information.
