Impersonating a Health Inspector

Impersonating a health inspector is a felony in the state of California. This is typically done by cons with no badge or a fake badge with no supporting picture ID or business card trying to scare and steal money from small business owners. In a more recent case, an actual Sonoma County employee with a badge - but not affiliated with the health department - flashed her badge, identified herself as a health inspector, and tried to shut down one of our members who was in fact approved by the health department.

Cons are everywhere and we all know to ask more questions, get their ID, or call the office they claim they work for before taking them seriously. This applies to health inspectors, code enforcement, and anybody who tries to disrupt your business.

But for a county employee to stoop to this level of harassment is a whole new level of shady. If this has or does happen to you, get as much detail as you can (name, pictures, video, witnesses) and report it to the department they claim to work for, the department they actually do work for, and report it us at the NorCal Food Truck Association! This will help us to identify trends or specific people who might need a visit from the police and the local media.

Thanks for all you do to support the mobile food industry and good luck out there!