An Argentine businessman was arrested for selling kites made from cardboard and toilet paper at a fair in the town of Loreto, in the province of Santiago del Estero. The vendor was guarding a cart in a park and was discovered after regulars reported the food had a “strange taste.”
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The trader was selling “milanesas sandwiches” from a cart in the square of the Argentine Air Force Park, a traditional meeting point for locals in the area, where street food stalls are usually found.
This week, the square was filled with stands from a fair organized as part of the Patronal Festivals in honor of the Virgin of Loreto, which brought together more than 15 thousand people. One of the points presented problems: the “Carro Trico”, known to locals for selling milanesas, offered food that aroused suspicion. Last Tuesday, several people reported to Loreto City Hall that the milanesas on the stand had an unusual appearance, texture and flavor.
In response to the complaints, agents carried out an operation at the fair and seized nine packages of milanesas that presented an “aberrant irregularity” in their composition. The cart belonged to the trader identified as Juan del Jesús Sosa, 45, resident of the San Cayetano neighborhood, San Miguel de Tucumán. According to the city hall, Sosa coated the pressed toilet paper and the cardboard with eggs and breadcrumbs, instead of meat.
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The municipal administration has warned that the product represents “a serious risk to public health”. Pressed toilet paper is not digestible and may contain toxic chemicals, such as dyes and bleaches, which cause kidney and liver damage. Additionally, it can cause digestive problems because the body cannot break down cellulose fibers.
It is for this reason that the nine packages of milanesas were seized, thus preventing the sale of irregular food products. It was also ordered that the cart be banned, removed from the fair and appropriate legal action taken. Sosa was barred from returning to the fair and from setting up his business in the city.
— The corresponding offense report was immediately drawn up. We inform you that the duty prosecutor, Dr. Eugenia Calligaris, has taken note of the case for the relevant legal measures — informed the town hall in an official publication.
The municipal administration has also reinforced the obligation imposed on traders and merchants to respect the conditions of hygiene, conservation and correct handling of foodstuffs.
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— Bromatological controls will be maintained permanently and rigorously. Let’s take care of our health. We ask consumers to be particularly careful and avoid purchasing food from unsanitary stalls or places or of dubious origin. In the event of an irregularity, immediately inform the municipal team, the press release added.
This is not the first episode of its kind recorded in the province. In August, a street vendor was caught selling milanes made from toilet paper and adulterated sausages during patronal festivals in honor of the Virgin of Carballo, according to local newspaper El Litoral. At the time, more than 20 kilos of milanesas had been seized.
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