10-year-old boy's salsa business gets visit from health department

[Pat McCotter]

10-year-old's salsa business gets visit from health department
By Chris Macias
Published: Tuesday, Mar. 23, 2010

Diego Bartolome just wanted to start a salsa business to help his mom after she lost her job. What the El Dorado County fourth-grader didn't expect was a crash course in red tape.

The 10-year-old co-founded a hot little salsa company, grossing $1,000 from his Diego's Awesome Salsa by December and landing accounts at grocery stores. The salsa boy also got a taste of the media spotlight, with a profile in The Bee and an appearance on Channel 31's "Good Day Sacramento."

Then the food police paid him and his mom a visit. An inspector from the state Department of Public Health noticed in a TV segment that Diego's Awesome Salsa wasn't labeled properly, and there were possible temperature-control issues.

The inspector told the Bartolomes that they needed a Processed Food Registration, a basic health permit for processing, manufacturing and distributing food in California. The permit's base fee is $350 a year.

"While (the department) encourages entrepreneurial spirit, we are most concerned about the health of Californians and want them to have confidence that the products they consume are safe," said Ronald Owens, a department spokesman.

Let's just say Paula Bartolome, Diego's mom and business partner, turned hotter than a habanero pepper. She thought they'd been in compliance with business regulations as they sold the $5 salsa jars in person at local bakeries and markets.

"I was just an absolute witch, telling the guy, 'You're no better than the mafia,' " said Paula Bartolome. "I ran a travel agency for years, and we all know that California is just very business-unfriendly. It's hard. I apologized when I called him back and told him I'd scrounged up the money."

The paperwork and bills are piling up. After fees for inspections, new labels and jars, UPC codes, an El Dorado County business license and similar expenses, the family has forked over about $2,000 to keep Diego's Awesome Salsa on store shelves.

Some good news for Diego: Owens said the health department has no further issues with Diego's Awesome Salsa. "It's been a lot harder than I thought," Diego said. "But the business is helping me with my math and speaking."

Amid the paperwork, Diego's Awesome Salsa has become a spicy local hit. He's selling up to four cases a week, crafting the salsa in the kitchen of Garden Valley's Chunks of Heaven Cookie Co. on weekends and after school.

Diego's Awesome Salsa has been picked up by Mar-Val Grocery in Georgetown and Noah's Ark in Placerville. Terry's Pizza in Georgetown will carry the salsa starting Saturday, and another area restaurant is in talks with the family.

Diego has dealt with disappointment, too. The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-Op and the Davis Food Co-Op both expressed interest in carrying the salsa but ultimately passed on it.

"They just thought it was too hot," Diego said. "I couldn't blame them. They're just not into hot salsa."

Despite the hurdles, he's still bent on making Diego's Awesome Salsa a red-hot success. "We're shopping today for the tomatoes, peppers and other ingredients," Diego said. "This is all going to pay off."

[Pat McCotter]

Here is a comment from his Mom:

This is Diego's Mom. Thank you Chris for the great article. To readers , please understand , we were told that we did indeed have everything in order and compliance. We had paid our fees and were issued our health permit. What we did not know , is that when you go from selling directly to selling wholesale ( ie a store or deli) you must have a permit issued by the state. That is why we were blindsided and I flipped ! We also sell a fresh product that requires refridgeration. The state thought that we were selling a shelf stable product , which requires other and more intense testing. The entire family is working very hard to make this a huge success. We all play a part. We are so proud of Diego! With all our hard work we can only go up ! Thank you to everyone ! Oh, yes Diego constantly washes his hands as do we all , our kitchen is the cleanest I have ever worked in !

[EthanLeeVita]

Mmm...salsa. I'm going to have to try to buy some while I'm going through California.

[CJS]

Thanks for posting this , I am in the middle of a horrible and stressful day and reading Paula Bartalome calling the guy a Gangster just made me LOL so hard my wife came in the room !

10-year-old's salsa business gets visit from health department


"I was just an absolute witch, telling the guy, 'You're no better than the mafia,' " said Paula Bartolome. "I ran a travel agency for years, and we all know that California is just very business-unfriendly. It's hard. I apologized when I called him back and told him I'd scrounged up the money."

This kid is a winner , I hope I see his salsa on store shelf near me someday.

"It's been a lot harder than I thought," Diego said. "But the business is helping me with my math and speaking."

[Sam A. Robrin]

I felt for them in their situation, but as I read further into the article, her "We sure thought we were all paid up," and "Whoops, we didn't know about that one," and the apology, and the assurance that she had the money, all made me realize just how complicit she is in her own oppression.  It's time to start being a little harder on such people to make them realize that when they complacently make it tougher on themselves, they make it easier for the State to make it tougher on everybody.