SEATTLE — If you have tickets for any events outside the Seattle stadiums, you might want to think twice about what you eat.
The King County Health Department has shut down more than a dozen “illegal street food vendors” in that area this year.
In fact, one vendor is taking matters into his own hands by passing out warning flyers to people in the area.
Sergia Garcia with 12’s Mex Kitchen said he wants to prevent people from getting sick from unregulated food service.
Garcia parks right outside the stadiums, with his licensing and permits on full display.
“I try to make everything safe, especially for the food... food is really dangerous, you have to have a good condition and fresh everything,” Garcia said.
But recently, he said more pop-up vendors are selling with no state permits or regulations.
“You buy a hot dog, then it’s like thirty minutes, you’re sick right away, an hour it depends,” he added.
This year, the King County Public Health Department has shut down more than 200 illegal food vendors, with 14 of them right outside Lumen Field.
Garcia tells us he’s handing out flyers and putting up signs to warn customers.
“It’s little by little, you know, working together with the health department too,” Garcia said.
The King County Health Department said they need the public to report illegal vendors, saying: “We take the issue of unpermitted mobile food vendors seriously, and it is a high priority for the Department. These operations pose a health risk to the public and unfairly compete with the permitted food vendors who are working with us to safely serve food.”
They tell us that if a vendor gets caught without a license, they will be asked to shut down and leave the area.
Most are not fined because they are not able to provide a physical address for the pop-up business.
A quick way to know if a vendor is licensed is to look for the smiley face signs with the health department logo — those indicate a recent inspection.
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