July 23, 2021. Reno/Sparks, NV – The Washoe County Health District (WCHD) issued notices of violation and cease and desist orders to six local food operators recently for illegal food operations and violations of basic food safety regulations.

The six operators were illegally selling sliced fruit, whole fruit, tacos, beverages and shaved ice at temporary, pop-up locations along busy streets and not brick-and-mortar locations, food trucks or permitted temporary food operations. All prepared food was confiscated. Two of the operators had already been issued a cease-and-desist order.

All of the illegal operations had basic food safety violations including poor personal hygiene (hand washing), food from unsafe sources, food contamination and improper storage/temperature issues. Information was given to all operations on how to safely and legally operate in a way that decreases food safety risk for residents. All food operators in Washoe County must have access to fresh water and an approved handwash setup to allow for proper hand washing and rinsing.

“Eating food that is not properly stored or handled involves serious risk of foodborne illness,” said Erin Dixon, Division Director for Environmental Health Services at WCHD. “Symptoms of foodborne illness like e-coli, salmonella and listeria include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain and bloody stool and can lead to hospitalization and may also lead to additional complications and chronic health problems.”

The Health District Food Safety Program is required by law to ensure food operators and establishments in Washoe County comply by food safety regulations. Staff conduct annual inspections of food establishments including restaurants, food manufacturers, and routine inspections at temporary food establishments and mobile food operations to determine compliance with current food safety regulations and practices.

The Food Protection Program also works collaboratively with members of the Communicable Diseases and Epidemiology to investigate complaints and outbreaks.

To find the latest inspection results for all permitted food establishments in Washoe County on the go, download our Washoe Eats App (On Google Play or Apple App Store. For food complaints in Washoe County, see more information here.

For more information, visit our website here.

Photos

For photos of some illegal food operations, click here and here.

The Washoe County Health District is nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board and has jurisdiction over all public health matters in Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County through the policy-making Washoe County District Board of Health. The District consists of five divisions: Administrative Health Services, Air Quality Management, Community and Clinical Health Services, Environmental Health Services and Epidemiology & Public Health Preparedness. More info can be found here.