PORTLAND, Ore. — The Multnomah County Health Department is urging people to avoid buying from unlicensed food carts or street vendors. The warning comes as many people are looking for ways to spend time outside before the end of the summer.
Over the past year, health officials have seen a rise in unlicensed, makeshift red pushcarts across Portland, the health department said on Thursday. Unlicensed vendors operate without inspections or permits and do not have proper food handling equipment or handwashing facilities, raising the risk of foodborne illnesses.
"It's important because foodborne illness is serious," said Andrea Hamberg, the interim public health director for Multnomah County. "It could just lead to a bad night's sleep for you, but it could land you in the hospital."
Vendors of six food carts that have been labeled as unlicensed have covered the agency's bright yellow, "unlicensed" stickers on their cart, the health department noted in a news release. The agency said inspectors have talked to the vendors about how to obtain business permits.
"We’ve tried working with these unlicensed vendors, but they have been unwilling to follow our guidance, which harms both licensed food vendors and the public," said Jeff Martin, the interim environmental health department, in a news release.
Rick Morrison lives in Good Hollow, near Providence Park. For the past several months, he has watched as more people have been setting up hot dog carts outside the stadium. He said the carts out at at every Timbers and Thorns game. He has never eaten at one of the carts and he doesn't plan to.
"They smell really good. They look really good. But again, without water, without the permits, without all the legal, I just don't want to do it," Morrison said.
Since the summer of 2023, the health department has shut down four vans with out-of-state license plates that dropped off vendors and their carts near venues in the city.
"We can’t have people coming from out of town, disregarding County rules, and selling unsafe food that negatively impacts public health and the livelihoods of licensed food businesses," Martin said.
In most cases, properly licensed food cart vendors will display their county-issued permits where customers can see them. Health officials said if you don't see a permit and you're unsure, it's a good idea ask a vendor about it.
Any vendor looking for information about how to obtain a food license can visit the county's website.