LA Street Vendors Face Scrutiny as Health Complaints Surge and Enforcement Shifts

Public records obtained by the California Post show 9,746 LA County health complaints about street vendors from 2023 through early 2026, detailing disturbing sanitation issues (a dog eating meat from a vendor bag, roaches and mice near open salsa, unrefrigerated raw meat). With Mayor Bass ordering LAPD to stop criminal citations of unpermitted vendors, enforcement is shifting toward larger operators, while only a small fraction of vendors hold active food permits, prompting debate over regulation and its impact on brick-and-mortar businesses.