Skip to Content
Street Vending

Driver’s License Numbers and Addresses of 806 Food Truck Owners ‘Accidentally’ Put On Blast By L.A. Public Health

photo: Sean Benesh

L.A.'s already embattled food truck operators have yet another stress on their shoulders this morning after the L.A. County Department of Public Health announced a major leak of these business owners' personal information yesterday.

According to the admission, the website for Public's Health's Environmental Health Division posted Mobile Food Facility Official Inspection Reports which showed the personal information, including names, ID and Driver's License numbers, and possibly also dates of birth, of roughly 806 permitees or "persons-in-charge."

Public Health, so far, does not claim to see any evidence this information was used by any bad actors who stole the information towards illicit ends, but obviously, such a data violation stands to affect a population of food truck operators that is already subject to public violence, robbery, murder, and aggressive law enforcement and legislation intent on shutting down or limiting their operations.

Nonetheless, the agency claims the reports were "promptly" removed upon their discovery, while attempts were made to contact those affected. Public Health also claims:

Since the incident, we have reviewed and retrained our workforce on the relevant policies and procedures and provided additional trainings to prevent future incidents. Public Health is committed to protecting the privacy and security of the personal information of our Mobile Food Facility Persons-In-Charge and Permittees.

This probably comes as little comfort for those whose personal information has already been erroneously revealed, potentially revealing their identities to scam artists, crooks, or anti-taco extremists.

The agency is encouraging anyone who thinks their information may have been exposed, which includes anyone who may have participated in a Mobile Food Facility Inspection between July 1, 2020, and July 29, 2022, to call 888-700-9995, the number for Environmental Health Division’s Customer Call Center, so they can confirm.

If one's information falls into the wrong hands, they're encouraged to contact law enforcement, banks, and credit card companies.

May we also suggest calling this guy?

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

Everything Wrong with Tesla’s $500 ‘Mezcal’

"Mezcal has become a commodity for many, without any regard for the earth, [or] for Indigenous people's land rights," says Odilia Romero, an Indigenous migrants rights advocate from Oaxaca and the executive director for CIELO. "Oaxaca is also having a water access issue.

December 20, 2024

This Weekend: Sonoran Caramelos, Brisket Tteokbokki, Mex-Italian Fusion, and Country-Fried Tofu

Plus, Malay-style wings, a collaboration pizza-topped with Philippe The Original's French-dipped beef and hot mustard, and more in this week's roundup.

December 20, 2024

More Than 70 People Reported Feeling Ill After Eating Oysters At L.A. Times ‘101 Restaurants’ Food Event

Ragusano is disappointed that the L.A. Times didn’t publicly disclose that there was an outbreak at their event. “Obviously they’re not going to print it in their paper,” Ragusano said. “But they‘re a newspaper and newspapers are supposed to share the news. This is how people usually find out about something like this,” she added. “It's ironic because it happened to them.”

December 19, 2024

The 38 Best Books of 2024

Like listening to music, reading is an activity that recharges the spirit. It offers a chance to unplug for an hour to fill your soul and slow down. Here are 38 ways to free your attention span from doom scrolling and algorithms.

December 18, 2024

A Trucker’s Oasis For Peruvian Chicharrón Sandwiches, Leche de Tigre, and Camote Donuts In Vernon

Their chicharrón sandwich is the best $10 you can spend in the beautiful city of Vernon. This mom-and-pop shop opened by a couple of retired truck drivers is a bonafide strip mall gem in Los Angeles, overlooking the L.A. River, too.

December 17, 2024
See all posts