Mecklenburg County Public Health Reports Increase in Illegal Food Vendors

Mecklenburg County Public Health has seen an increase in complaints of food vendors operating without a permit. Most of the complaints are coming from street vendors selling food between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. in the Uptown and South End areas of Charlotte.

The Mecklenburg County Food and Facilities Sanitation Program permits more than 4,400 food service facilities operating in Mecklenburg County and conducts more than 13,000 facility inspections per year to ensure the health and safety of restaurants, food trucks and food stands. Facilities that are approved to operate and serve food in the county must have a food safety scorecard displayed at their establishment.  

Unpermitted food vendors pose several potential health hazards as they are not inspected to ensure proper food handling and other important hygiene standards like proper handwashing, safe cooking and storage temperatures, and sanitary equipment.

“We encourage all residents to look for the food safety scorecard before ordering to ensure that the establishment has been inspected and minimum food safety standards are met,” said Director of Environmental Health Chrystal Swinger. “Unpermitted food vendors pose a serious health risk of foodborne illness, which can be severe and even fatal. Our team is working to ensure these individuals stop selling food in these often-hazardous conditions, but we need residents to help us by not patronizing illegal food vendors.”  

Residents can report food vendors operating without a permit through 311. People can also check the health inspection score for regulated businesses in Mecklenburg County online or through Yelp.