Meals from unlicensed food vendors These can support harmful bacterial growth and cause foodborne illness without proper handling.
Source: N.M. Environment Department
Photo: Courtesy Lameirasb (via Wikimedia), CC BY-SA 4.0
SANTA FE – The New Mexico Environment Department is warning the public about health risks from unlicensed food vendors selling enchilada plates, meal preps, and other cooked foods through social media platforms like Facebook Marketplace.
Foods that require a permit include:
- Cooked meals, enchilada plates, meal preps
- Dairy-based products
- Meats, including jerky
- Any item needing temperature control for safety
These foods can support harmful bacterial growth and cause foodborne illness without proper handling.
What’s allowed without a permit:
While New Mexico’s Homemade Food Act allows individuals to prepare and sell certain low-risk foods from home without a permit, the law applies only to specific items that are unlikely to support harmful bacterial growth and generally do not require refrigeration.
- Baked goods (cakes, cookies, breads that do not require refrigeration)
- Fruit jellies
- Candies
- Popcorn
Important: food handler cards are not permits
Some online food sellers display a food handler card to suggest they are permitted to sell to the public. However, NMED emphasizes that a food handler card only confirms completion of basic food safety training — it is not a food service permit.
Only establishments that complete the full permitting process are legally authorized to sell and serve food to the public. For more information about food permitting requirements, visit the NMED website here or contact one of NMED’s 22 field offices located across the state. NMED staff are available to answer questions and provide guidance by phone or email.