Texas Woman Fined $700, Threatened with Arrest for Selling Tamales

Carrollton Texas resident Dennise Cruz thought she could make some extra money selling homemade tamales to her neighbors, using a social networking website called Nextdoor. Well, Carrollton county administrators found her tamales to be a potentially dangerous food. Cruz received a notification that unless she contacted the court and paid a $700 fine, she would be arrested.

Cruz decided to make extra money to help support her family, yet someone reported her to the county for not having a license. “I don’t understand because if anything I would have rather them come to me first if they had any concerns,” Cruz stated. “When it hit me, I was like that is a lot of money! To know that somebody can be arrested over that, that to me is unbelievable ”

An unnamed Director of the Carrollton Environmental Services stated that a fine was issued instead of a warning, due to the great public health risk that the tamales posed. They are considered a potentially hazardous food due to the corn and beef used. There was no clarification on this statement.

In order to obtain a permit to sell food in Texas, you must pay the $258 filing fee. Believe it or not, tamales are specifically listed under Texas’ Cottage Food Law as prohibited for sale as a homemade item, due to potential food borne pathogens. Accompanying tamales on the list are cheesecake, salsa, cream pies and beef jerky. Cruz stated that she would fight the fine in court. She has set up a GoFundMe account to help raise money for her legal expenses.

Sources: The Free Thought Project, Texas Cottage Food Law.

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