I think that as long as people are aware that they may be taking a risk then it should be fine to prepare food anyway you want. It's amazing how much is lost when traditional foods can't be produced in the traditional manner.

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If Mr Trieu and his family have been serving these cakes for 20 years, surely it would have got back to him by now if there were cases of food sicknessess linked with them. If there are no cases linked to his rice cakes, why shouldn't they continue to be served?

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there's a similar problem out here on the east coast with fresh mozzarella
as any cheese epicure worth her weight in curds knows the optimal temp for fresh mozza is room temperature, NEVER cold!
the good italian delis keep the mozza in water baths on counters, but the health inspectors say that's not kosher, but the deli guys refuse to refigerate, so the health inspectors fine them, and the circle goes round and round

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After all the debate using anectodal statements etc dies down (ok, even during it) there is a basic truth, bacteria dont care.

If they find an environment that is rich, they love it. On average their generation time is 20 minutes, propagation is fast. They slow down for no one.

I say, do the testing and determine emperically whether these delicious items are a danger or not. Period. If yes, then keep them in the fridge till ready to serve, nuke till warm. Otherwise eat when fresh.

Dont like that, find another way.. maybe dose them with gamma, all I am saying is, if you dont want to kill off the gringo customers who do not have a tolerance for these sorts of bugs then you have to comply with the laws of the gringo land.

Its not about whats fair or culturally sensitive.. its simply about what doesnt kill the diner.

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Re: "gringo"
The Vietnamese are not Hispanic.

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Hanae: that is a nonsequitor if I ever saw one.. in other words.. huh? Hispanics are not gringos either.

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I think I've heard of similar issues, like with how roast duck or whatever is hung up in Chinatown. And I think in Hawai'i we've had similar issues with spam musubi (Google it) and sushi that is sold in convenience stores or mom and pop stores. Now they have to keep the rice products warm, which is really gross and wrong. So I just don't buy it.

I think we have a similar product to this Vietnamese rice in Chinatown and that hasn't come under attack yet. They should find out if there's a good reason maybe.

Re: Gringo: I think Hanae is saying that gringo is a Spanish term used to differentiate between Latinos and Whites rather than Vietnamese and Whites. I don't really know Spanish and I haven't ever lived somewhere where gringo is used a lot so I don't know for sure whose side I am on.

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I've grown up with a mom who was Vietnamese and I've eaten many Vietnamese foods that were left out for days at room temperatures and can't remember any cases in which food poisoning was ever casually linked to eating any of them. The question is this: because I grew up on these types of food in my diet, am I immune to some of the bacteria growing in them, would the "normal" bacteria that I consume be pathogenic in those that HAVEN'T eaten this type of food before?

There are cases out there of people that drink unpasteurized milk on their farm, then going over to other farms and drinking unpasteurized milk and getting sick at the other farm because their immune system isn't used to the other bacteria...

Either way, compliance with food laws, which are designed to keep ALL food safe based on scientific data, doesn't mean that the food can't be served at room temperatures once at the home since the food processor can't control how the food is treated once in the consumer's hand.

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RobynT: hmm.. As a latina I can tell you that gringo relates to whites (and not non-whites) who are not hip to the cool. A perfect specimen gringo would be a large white male from Iowa (I used to live in Iowa and have relatives from Illinois so I know what I am talking about) who says Jalapena (as is ja-lah-pen-ah) and thinks that all latinos are mexican and wear those cheesy mexican rachero hats with tassles.

It has nothing to do with the racial make up of the non-gringo saying it. (Tho gringos are not barred from referring to themselves as a gringo. It is not really a derogatory term. My grandma's nickname for my gringa mom was "gringa")

If this were the case vietnamese would not be able to refer to quesadillas as quesadillas and I would not be able to say bruchetta or oso bucco. I would have to say something like, lord knows, um.. that eye-talian dish that has bread in it or ox tails or sumphin.

If we were talking about onigiri, likely the word would be gaijin and not gringo, same difference.

ALL which is to say, the intestinal flora needed to integrate a challenging food like the unique bacterial environment inside of street food (like these rice snacks and others) may not be present in that of your average Californian gringo (which is why there are food standards) who is used to eating sterile nitrogen packed doritos and hot-pockets.

I can tell you that when I travel from MA to San Antonio I can NOT drink the tap water after all these years of being away, I get violent GI upset. My guts are just not acclimatized.

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I'm for posting warnings, but letting consenting adults eat what they want to eat. I got some (raw)apple cider from an orchard in Yucaipa, CA. I'd got cider from them as a kid. Their bottles have warnings about being a raw product and all, as required. They add their own note saying they've had no problems after decades of producing the cider, but they were required to post the warning.

It's true, bacteria doesn't know if a food is "traditional". But just because a food at room temperature MAY give you an illness doesn't mean that it WILL make you sick. Like the warnings about runny egg yolks and undercooked fish, there may be a higher risk, but it's not automatically going to make you sick.

Me, I like a medium-rare hamburger. I know there's greater risk of illness than eating a grey in the center medium-well one, but I've decided the greater reward of a burger I enjoy is worth it. My decision.

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As a person living in San Jose, I think it's frickin' ridiculous. One of the things that makes this area awesome is the option to eat whatever nationality of food you want in the way it was intended to be eaten.

There would be something terribly wrong and disappointing about going into a Vietnamese deli and not seeing piles of enticing yet mostly unidentifiable goodies wrapped in banana leaves and plastic. The authenticity is part of the fun.

It's a case of ethnocentrism that doesn't usually get the spotlight. Just because the US is anal-retentive about "food safety" doesn't mean it's the only way to do things. I'm sure if bacteria was that big a problem, most of Vietnam would have a continuous case of gastrointestinal upset.

I am all for labeling the food with dates, because that's just common courtesy. All the restaurants should have to do is put up a sign, let the customers decide whether or not to take the "risk" and keep the damn government out of it.

There are bigger problems to deal with first. Leave the food alone.

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I really don't think this is a case of ethnocentrism at all. The same food safety rules apply whether the food is Vietnamese, Cuban, French, or just plain Anglo. If we held food at room temperature at the German butcher where I work, we would be cited and fined by the inspectors just as quickly as anyone else, regardless of tradition.
That said, it can be difficult to reconcile traditional foodways with modern standards of food safety. When my father-in-law worked for the USDA, he was assigned to inspect meat markets in predominantly Asian areas. It was difficult for him to have to tell small-shop owners that they couldn't do things the way they had always done them. But what is the alternative? The trouble with relaxing regulations for one type of food is that it undermines the regulations that keep us safe from health risks from improper food handling.

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well maybe they could just put a disclaimer. There are disclaimers on a pack of ciggies and we know these are bad for you. And I have a couple friends who don't give too much fuss over refrigeration and they are not getting sick.

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