I’m very concerned about what’s going on down at the Durango Flea Market.
For many years it was a mandatory state requirement for food vendors to be licensed and insured in Colorado to serve food, and yet for some reason, the past couple of years, the Durango flea market has seen a surge of non-licensed, non-insured food vendors selling food without any health food requirements.
Why is San Juan Basin Health allowing this to happen in their county when it used to be mandatory to be licensed to serve food at the flea market? Even the snow cone vendor had to be licensed to sell his snow cones, and yet other food vendors can just come and go as they please. All they have to do is pay their $15 space fee and start selling food.
For the past few years and the start of this flea market season, there was a licensed and insured hot dog vendor that was very clean and completely legal. Now, the clean and legal vendor has left the flea market since he cannot compete with non-licensed food vendors. Is this arrogance becoming the new norm down at the flea market?
If you’re a licensed food vendor in La Plata County and this angers you as much as it does me, please call San Juan Basin Health and demand them to step up and deal with these issues once and for all.
At this point, all I can say and do is boycott the Durango Flea Market until it takes public health a little more seriously.
Greg Conners
Durango
