DENVER — Denver health officials defended an inspector’s decision to pour bleach into an unlicensed taco vendor’s food over the weekend, after a video of the incident spread on social media.
Two Denver health inspectors approached a table operated by Tacos Tacolorado near the intersection of Evans Avenue and Colorado Boulevard on Saturday evening. Health officials had previously cited the vendor and thrown out its food for failing to follow various food safety rules, according to inspection reports reviewed by The Denver Post. When inspectors approached Saturday and asked that the food be destroyed, the vendor placed some food into the back of a truck, prompting one health inspector to pour bleach into the remaining food, according to Emily Williams, spokeswoman for the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment (DDPHE).
The incident was caught on video, showing the inspector dumping the chemical into plastic containers of food on a tablecloth-covered table.
Though uncommon, using bleach to intentionally contaminate food is a tool inspectors use to ensure food can’t be served, said Danica Lee, Denver’s director of public health investigations.
Read the full story from our partners at The Denver Post.
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