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It’s a recipe for controversy.
Health officials in Denver are under fire after two inspectors were caught on a controversial viral video pouring bleach into the food at a local taco stand on Saturday.
The footage, which began making the rounds online over the weekend, shows two inspectors from the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment unloading a giant jug of bleach into vats of food at the Taco Tacolorado stand, KUSA-TV News reported this week.
The clip caused quite a stir, but health officials in the Colorado city said the “extreme” measure was necessary after the food stand vendor ignored repeated public health citations.
“Because we have been unable to achieve compliance, our enforcement actions have escalated to confiscating and safely disposing of food products that pose a potential health risk,” health department spokesperson Amber Campbell said in an email to The Post.
“In previous encounters, the vendor had quickly packed up and relocated before food could be safely discarded,” she said. “At the most recent inspection, when our investigators arrived, employees began packing the contaminated food into a locked truck.
“Given the vendor’s interference, lack of an on-site dumpster, and the amount of contaminated food, bleach was used as a quick and immediate response to ensure food could not be packed, stored, and resold,” Campbell said, adding that the tainted food was then removed.
She said the food vendor, identified by KUSA as Garcia Barrientos, has blown off repeated warnings about unsafe and potentially dangerous food, and said he did not have a license to do business.
The department also said using a substance like bleach to ensure potentially unsafe food is not sold is not uncommon among health inspectors in the US.
However, Barrientos told the outlet that he had no idea who the inspectors were because they weren’t wearing badges or flash IDs — and claimed the city never told him about prior violations.
The inspectors appear to be wearing badges in the images posted online.
Campbell disagreed, and said the food peddler has even moved to different locations to dodge fines for a slew of violations including for unsafe food storage and unlicensed operation.
“Allowing unlicensed vendors to operate not only presents a health and safety risk, but it also undermines the many small businesses in Denver that have invested time and money to operate legally and safely.
“We’ve heard from licensed vendors who are concerned about the unfair competition and the impact on their livelihoods,” she added.
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