By Mata Press Service
Fraser Health is urging residents to buy food only from approved, licensed establishments after a rise in complaints involving unregulated home-based meal services operating across the region.
In a public advisory, the health authority confirmed it has investigated reports of food being prepared and sold from private homes — including garages, townhouses and apartments — without permits or inspections. These include informal tiffin services, catering operations, baked goods, and social-media-based delivery services.
“Permits must be clearly posted and visible to customers,” Fraser Health stated, noting that only businesses holding a valid operating permit — issued after a full review and on-site inspection — are legally allowed to sell prepared food to the public.
This latest alert follows similar warnings issued over the past two years, when Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health investigated several unlicensed food services amid pandemic-era growth in home-based cooking businesses.
In 2022 and 2023, public health officers traced suspected foodborne illness cases to unregulated tiffin providers in Surrey and Delta. Several operators were issued closure orders after inspectors found food being prepared in residential kitchens without proper sanitation or temperature controls.
At the time, officials warned that while many of these services stemmed from cultural tradition and economic necessity, they still carried significant risks if operated outside public health regulations.
Fraser Health emphasized the dangers associated with consuming food from unapproved sellers.
“Consuming food from illegal food business increases your risk of food safety concerns and foodborne illnesses from improper food preparation, storage and handling of foods,” the authority said. Illnesses such as E. coli and hepatitis, it noted, “may have greater impacts on vulnerable individuals such as children, the elderly, pregnant individuals and individuals with weakened immune systems.”
To help protect themselves, Fraser Health is advising consumers to verify that any food provider is licensed and inspected.
It encourages the public to:
• View online inspection reports for restaurants and approved caterers.
• Look for closure orders posted at businesses with past violations.
• Consider overall cleanliness — including bathroom facilities — as an indicator of safe operations.
• Contact their physician and local Health Protection office if food poisoning is suspected.
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