Asadero El Cien on 3 Mile North and Bentsen Palm in Palmview was closed for several days.
A county health inspector ordered the closure after he discovered the mobile kitchen had improper wastewater disposal and a malfunctioning hot water system.
Hot water is necessary for proper sanitation.
The gross unsanitary conditions are considered by health inspectors to be a potential health risk to the public.
It’s unclear if the county re-inspected the business.
The taco stand was just closing Wednesday afternoon at 3pm when the Food Patrol came around.
A worker named Saul Zamago claimed at first that he didn’t know anything about the violations.
“I have no idea,” he said.
It wasn’t until Action 4’s Ryan Wolf pointed out his signature on the inspection report that he admitted to knowledge of the closure.
“I was asking you a general concern,” Ryan explained. “It’s the public's safety we're talking about here. It’s a serious question about this health inspection report and you're telling me you have no idea what I'm talking about. If I didn't look at the bottom and see your name here, you would have just kept going, right?” he asked.
“Yea,” Saul responded. I don't know."
The Food Patrol wanted to know if all repairs were made necessary for the kitchen to reopen.
Robert Serna, executive assistant for environmental health in Hidalgo County, admitted the night program for inspecting mobile kitchens had been suspended recently due to a lack of manpower.
That means an inspector will only check kitchens that open after normal business hours when a public complaint is made.
All kitchens must first be inspected by the county before they are issued a permit to operate.
But regular kitchens, like restaurants, are inspected at least twice a year.
Serna admits more needs to be done to ensure mobile kitchens are following health rules.
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Top Performers List
Weekly Low Performer List: (total # of demerits)
Palmview
Asadero El Cien 3 Mile N & Bentsen Palm (16) *Shutdown, Illegal Wastewater Dumping, Broken Hot Water Switch*
Weekly Top Performer List: (0 demerits)
Mercedes
Pizza Hut 826 W 2nd
Edinburg
Subway 219 E Trenton
Pizza Patron 3911 S McColl
McDonald’s 4101 S McColl
Burger King 1702 W University
Church’s 820 E University
Brownsville
Subway 1725 International Blvd
Harlingen
McDonald’s 2305 W Lincoln
Subway 102 E Jackson
Los Comadres 3322 N 77
Big John’s BBQ 3806 W Bus. 83
Elsa
Cadereyta 410 W Edinburg
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT