San Francisco Chinatown merchants fed up with illegal vending of raw meat, vegetables and even baby sharks [Video]

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Raw meats, produce, and even baby sharks are all sold illegally on the streets of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Merchants say this has been causing many problems for the community. They are fed up and voicing their frustrations at a meeting with the mayor’s office, Department of Public Health and Department of Public Works on Wednesday.

Edward Siu of the Chinatown United Merchants Association, which represents 175 businesses, has been at odds with for years.

“We have a lot of merchants who have paid for rental, insurance, license, and everything. The illegal street vendors don’t have to pay for anything,” said Siu.

But that’s just the beginning. Siu says food is sometimes picked from the trash and resold. He shared a tale of a woman, caught picking pig skins from the trash. When questioned about what she was going to do with the discarded meat, she said she’d make sticky rice …