[Market-farming] Food Safety vs. insanity

Marlin Burkholder glenecofarm at planetcomm.net
Sat Apr 4 09:15:40 EDT 2009


Virginia Department of Agriculture allows market vendors to sell baked goods made in "uninspected kitchens" if that is put written on the label of the product.  Last year we were also told that VDACS has not been getting to markets to check vendors' scales; as they do not have the man power to get it done.
Christine Burkholder
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Joyce Paski 
  To: Market Farming 
  Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2009 7:51 PM
  Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Food Safety vs. insanity


        Hi, Julie:  I am growing Shitake mushrooms for the first time this year -- it's good to know there's someone on the list I can ask question of ;).  While I think food regs in Wisconsin are ridiculous, I don't think it is as bad here as other places.  Last summer I tried to get some interest in passing legislation similar to Kentucky's home processing law where farmers can value add products in their home kitchen and sell those products at local farmers market with minimal red tape.  The state flat out told us they opposed food processing outside of certified kitchens.  There is, however, new legislation proposed here that is similar to Minnesota's "Pickle Bill" where high acid products like pickles and relishes could be home processed with minimal requirements and sold at farmers markets.  (I think it is LRB 2435). People need to be both vigilant and pro-active in communicating their needs to their legislators or else they will be sure to lose their right to farm.

        Joyce Paski 
        Swamp Creek Farm, Zone 3 


        --- On Thu, 4/2/09, juliew026 at netscape.net <juliew026 at netscape.net> wrote:


          From: juliew026 at netscape.net <juliew026 at netscape.net>
          Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Food Safety vs. insanity
          To: market-farming at lists.ibiblio.org
          Date: Thursday, April 2, 2009, 3:34 PM


          Misery loves company...so let me share some of the insanity from 
          Massachusetts.
            I've had a shellfish aquaculture lease from my town for 20 years 
          growing oysters,hard clams(quahogs), & soft shell clams(steamers).
          For a number of years I was able to sell these products at farmers 
          markets in state including Boston City Hall Market.
            After selling thousands of pounds of product to happy customers our 
          state adopted new (Fed.) regulations that essentially said that a fresh 
          shellfish was unsafe for the public to purchase because it was not 
          being held below 40 degrees, regardless of the fact what I sold was 
          taken from the water (lease location) the day of the market. Also it 
          became illegal  to sell shellfish from a mobile unit retail.....I now 
          must wholesale only

             This is a great list serve and I find it very helpful. I live in the 
          agricultural wasteland of  outer cape cod where local environmental 
          fundamentalism and the Cape Cod National Seashore as well as property 
          values still exceeding $400,000.00 per acre limit the opportunities for 
          agricultural development. As of last night our town has formed a 
          agriculture task force to look at the future,.
             I have access to an acre for veg.farming and I've been growing 
          Shiitake mushrooms for 20 yrs.
            I'm waiting to see entries here for both mushroom growing and if 
          anyone here is yet involved in using Bio-Char ?

            thanks to all and good luck
          Julie Winslow
          Cape Coastal Farm Products

          -----Original Message-----
          From: sora at coldreams.com
          To: market-farming at lists.ibiblio.org
          Sent: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 2:32 pm
          Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Food Safety vs. insanity










          >
          > We are being told by the county health department that we can only
          > have eggs at market this year if they are in an electrically powered
          > cooler: coleman coolers will no longer be allowed because 'they
          > cannot maintain the 41 degree temperature requirement.'
          >
          > Are the rest of you being affected by this? (Supposedly a recent FDA
          > requirement)
          >
          > I've heard that in other areas coolers have been deemed 'safe.'
          >
          > Also, I hear there is not one recorded incident of a salmonella egg
          > from a farmers market in the history of farmers markets in the USofA.
          > (comments?)
          >
          > Thanks
          >
          > -Allan in WV
          > This edict has just come down on us in Idaho also...so...we've gone 
          from
          one of the least regulated states to one of the most!
          All of our Health folk have admitted to me that in reality eggs 
          (unwashed)
          will hold 6 weeks or more without refrigeration!  They are nature's
          perfect little package.   When we were told last year we were no longer
          allowed to sell dried herbs without license and commercial kitchen, I
          demanded documentation of one food bourne illness that had been traced 
          to
          dried herbs which have been sold at open markets for literally thousands
          of years.  They admitted there was nothing on record.
          All of this has lead to absurd battles between vendors who have been
          selling safe, high quality foods for decades and health regulators
          threatening to shut the Market down.  For me personally who has
          volunteered thousands of hours over a decade to build a local food 
          supply,
          I'm ready to pack it in in disgust.........Sora  in N. Idaho where it's
          Still snowing!

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