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County health cracking down on corn peddlers

A November news release caught our eye, just as we were headed over to the baseball park to plunk down some cash for a hot elote on a stick slathered with mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese.

Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox has announced she is reaching out to corn peddlers and other mobile food vendors about bringing their street businesses into compliance with the county's environmental health code.

"We are taking a more aggressive lead in identifying the corn peddlers and food vendors that are not in compliance," Wilcox stated in the release. "As part of our efforts, Maricopa County inspectors have teamed up with members of the Hispanic community who have gone through the permitting process, to help us better bring the message to those operators that need to comply."

She added that many vendors who peddle corn and other snacks don't follow health laws because they don't know or understand that regulations are different in the U.S. and Maricopa County than in their countries of origin.

Officials say a dramatic increase in the number of food vendors without permits seen in neighborhoods and parks has prompted a rise in citizen complaints regarding food product sanitation, food safety and health risks.

Intergovernmental sweeps are conducted monthly, in which food peddlers are told about the permit process and how to get assistance from the county. Their snacks, often kept in shopping carts, plastic coolers or bicycle baskets, are embargoed.

For more information, visit www.maricopa.gov/envsvc/ or call (602) 506-6611.