Local health department idiotic behavior at the Toledo farmers market

(my nov 25, 2014 tt comment)

"now, I will be the first to admit that I don't know the whole story. "

Indeed, you don't.

Cider

To repeat, the Toledo farmers market vendor could "sell" the cider by accepting "payment" in the form of a donation, but the vendor could NOT sell the same cider, according to the price set by the vendor because the cider was not resting in a refrigerator on the table where the cider was sold.

If it was a true health hazard, why would the vendor be permitted to "sell" the same unrefrigerated cider for a donation?

Coffee

You could "buy" a cup of coffee by offering a donation, but the Toledo farmers market vendor could not sell you that same cup of coffee, according to the vendor's asking price.

And the reason for this was because the coffee was brewed at their wagon, located about 30 to 40 feet away from the vendor's table. The brewed coffee was placed into large thermos containers at the wagon, I believe, and then those large thermos containers were walked over to the table where you would pour yourself a cup.

But because the coffee was not sold at the exact same location as where it was brewed, the vendor could not sell it for the vendor's price. But obviously, it was not a true health hazard because you could still obtain the coffee for a donation.

Eggs

Is the U.S. the only country that requires eggs to be refrigerated? When a chicken lays eggs during the warmer time of the year, those eggs don't pop out at 45 degrees.

Apparently, the morons at the health department assume that all eggs sold at the Toledo farmers market come from factory farms.

If you're an American, you probably store eggs in the refrigerator – and wouldn't think of doing it any other way.

Yet, the US is one of the only countries where chicken eggs are kept refrigerated. In much of Europe, for instance, eggs are often stored right on the counter, at room temperature.

But then, US eggs would be illegal in Europe due to an egg-washing process that may actually make them more susceptible to contamination with bacteria like Salmonella.

...

Believe it or not, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) graded eggs would be illegal if sold in the UK, or indeed anywhere in the European Union (EU).

It’s all to do with the fact that commercial American eggs are federally required to be washed and sanitized before they reach the consumer.

EU egg marketing laws, on the other hand, state that Class A eggs – those found on supermarkets shelves, must not be washed, or cleaned in any way.

Only in a America can cleaning something actually make the item worse. But factory farm eggs must be sanitized because of the horrible conditions where those eggs are produced.

Eggs from such large flocks (30,000 birds or more… and some actually house millions of hens) and eggs from caged hens have many times more salmonella bacteria than eggs from smaller flocks, organically fed and free-ranging flocks.

When you have eggs from tens of thousands of chickens – or more -- all under one roof, there's a good chance they're going to get feces and other contaminants on them. The US solution, rather than reducing the size of the flocks and ensuring better sanitation and access to the outdoors, is to wash the eggs.

I'm not buying bland-tasting, factory farm eggs at the Toledo farmers market.

#toledo - #politics - #moronism - #health - #food - #farming