Houston's ethnic food stores monitored for safety

As immigrant population grows, so do the imports of exotic edibles

August 21, 2007

By JAMES PINKERTON Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Federal food cops in Houston are used to confiscating bizarre concoctions.

In the past year they've seized earthworms from China and untreated lentils from India. And they're still talking about the 2,000 pounds of duck and chicken feet illegally shipped to Houston from Vietnam.

As the immigrant community in Houston continues to expand, so does the number of local ethnic markets where exotic — and sometimes contaminated or untreated — food products are sold, authorities say.

''Without a doubt as the immigrant population grows, we've seen more and more ethnic markets and more imported food come in," said Tom Baker, who supervises Houston inspectors assigned to a component of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They focus on smuggling, interdiction and trade compliance. ''Our group has found significant amounts of prohibited food commodities in ethnic markets in the last year."

Baker said his agents monitor more than 1,000 ethnic markets in Houston and surrounding counties, where merchants from Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Europe sell specialty products to immigrants hungry for a taste of home.

The focus on ethnic outlets has increased in the wake of a series of recalls that began this spring when a chemical used to make plastic was found in pet food imported from China. Other recalls of Chinese products include tainted toothpaste, seafood treated with antibiotics and toys decorated with lead-based paint.

Carolyn Gray, chief sanitarian for the city of Houston's health department, said some of the city's 42 food inspectors speak Chinese or Vietnamese to help monitor ethnic food markets.
Earlier this month, the head of the Food and Drug Administration said more food inspectors will be hired. It was disclosed that less than 1 percent of imported food shipments are inspected.
Removing productsSeveral merchants, including Bill Chu, owner of the Welcome Food Center on Bellaire Boulevard, said products are quickly removed if government food officials say they could be contaminated.

''I'm not going to be so greedy to make one or two bucks and let someone eat something that will hurt them," said Chu.

Officials said most of the tainted food is seized at larger, mainstream grocery outlets because of the sheer volume of products sold there.

There are 14,000 licensed food vendors in Houston, including grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations and school cafeterias, and all must be inspected at least once a year, she said.
City inspectors work closely with USDA and FDA inspectors assigned to Houston, Gray said.
Some of Houston's ethnic markets commit food safety violations, Gray said, especially in failing to store certain food at 41 degrees or cooler in walk-in freezers. She said seizures of questionable food are a weekly occurrence.

Atul Shah, a manager at the India Mart on Hillcroft, said some brands of spices and commodities recently have become difficult to obtain from suppliers.

He suspects they may have been placed on lists of products not allowed into the country.
''Some things are not coming in, and I don't know why," Shah said, adding that no products have been removed from his store by authorities.

Local consumers, including several at Welcome Food on Bellaire, expressed confidence in the products sold at ethnic markets.

Oisheng Zhang, a 23-year-old University of Houston senior, said he has never had a problem with products he's purchased in nearly five years as a customer.

''If I see half of the shelves empty one day, I may get worried," he said.

Preservation is keyDan Sowards, a food safety officer for the Texas Department of State Health Services, said ethnic markets can pose more of a sanitation hazard because of the way some imported products are processed.

But he said just because a product is exotic, it doesn't mean it is tainted or unsafe.

''You might find dried bats in a Nigerian store, or fried ants," Sowards said.

''You'll find all kinds of things, but they're not necessarily contaminated. ... It depends on how they've been been handled."

Determining if food safety practices at ethnic markets are better or worse than other food establishments is difficult because sanitation inspections are not broken down by ethnicity, Harris County and Houston health department officials explained.

james.pinkerton@chron.com