Food safety bill: big vs. small business

From the WSJ last month (Division of Labour) on the big federal food-safety bill sailing through Congress:

:…small farmers worry the measure’s fees and inspection requirements would be ruinously expensive and are pushing for exemptions.

“I know people who have been small farmers for 25 to 30 years who are looking to get out of the business because food safety is becoming so alarmist,” said Mary Alionis, whose eight-acre Whistling Duck Farm in Grants Pass, Ore., sells produce to farmers markets and restaurants.

Big food companies generally support the bill, judging the added expenses it would bring to be small compared with the potential financial damage of a vast product recall.

It’s a pattern we’ve seen before.

Filed under: food safety, small business

April 20 roundup

Tossed: “Zulu coconut lawsuit thrown out on appeal” [NOLA.com; earlier on this Mardi Gras tradition and the law Louisiana passed to protect it]
Maryland: “Felony Charges for Recording a Plainclothes Officer” [Rittgers, Cato at Liberty]
More on decline of local slaughterhouses under federal regulation [Zachary Adam Cohen, NYT “Room for Debate”; earlier]
“Now Brussels has declared that tourism is a human right” [Times Online via Coyote]
Three taxes that are a more immediate danger than a VAT [David Frum; my take, at National Journal blogger poll]
“WorldNetDaily Sues White House Correspondents Association Over Dinner Tables” [MediaBistro, more]
Department of Labor vs. internship programs: one target’s view [Terry Michael, Reason; earlier]
Allegedly easy way bloggers can comply with FTC endorsement regs [Chris Pirillo]

Filed under: Europe, food safety, FTC endorsement rules, international human rights, Louisiana, Maryland, small business, taxes, wage and hour suits

Regulation vs. artisanal mixed drinks

San Francisco warns against infused bitters, the New York City health department cracks down on raw egg whites, and Virginia’s ABC state commission keeps many exotic spirits out of reach (Reason.tv via Reason “Hit and Run”).

Filed under: alcohol, food safety, NYC, San Francisco, Virginia

Sorry, locavores

We know you’re looking for small-scale, locally produced meat, but it’s been marginalized thanks to regulation among other causes:

The state [Vermont] has seven operating slaughterhouses, down from around 25 in the mid-1980s, [state meat inspection official Randy] Quenneville said. One is a state-inspected facility, meaning that meat inspected there cannot be sold over state lines. …

Mr. Quenneville said a number of small, family-owned slaughterhouses started closing when strict federal rules regarding health control went into effect in 1999.

Not entirely unrelatedly, here’s an article on underground restaurants in Boston, a trend that has spread from Portland, Ore.

Filed under: Boston, food safety, restaurants, small business, Vermont

U.K.: “Cheese-rolling race axed after 200 years”

It’s seen as too risky [Daily Mail, UK] Local authorities will try to bring the event back next year; we covered an earlier suspension in 2003.

P.S. Commenter Peter Eipers: “They can’t handle crowd control for a cheese race, and they are about to host the Olympics?” More: Zincavage.

Filed under: food safety, recreation, safety, United Kingdom

Not for before meals dept.

Legalities aside, there may be a possible lesson here about not buying human food from a pet store [Beck, Drug & Device Law]

Filed under: animals, food safety

March 4 roundup

“Toyota Recall: Scandal, Media Circus, and Stupid Drivers” [Dushane, Car & Driver via Prof. Bainbridge] Some parallels with Audi sudden-acceleration panic [Michael Fumento, who also questions recent numbers] More: Mike Allen, Popular Mechanics via Instapundit (“why widespread theories about electrical throttle problems and electromagnetic interference are misguided”); and Fumento on braking capacity.
Overly hot sandwich caused $2 million worth of damages, he says, though it’s true he didn’t seek immediate medical attention [Lowering the Bar, earlier]
Rick Esenberg on judicial recusal wars in Wisconsin and nationally [Point of Law first and second posts] In Circle of Greed, lawyer/felon Lerach flings recusal issue against late father of Carly Fiorina [Gerstein, Politico; our earlier Lerach coverage]
And more: Notwithstanding earlier denials, Lerach did lobby President Clinton to veto securities litigation reform act [Gerstein, Politico]
Claim by Connecticut AG and Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal: lawsuits he files “actually create jobs” [Wood, PoL]
Setback for prolific patent litigant Bender [Zura via Joe Mullin, related]
Following complaints by traditional video store competitors, prosecutor threatens criminal charges unless DVD rental kiosks remove R- and even PG-rated films [Indianapolis Star via Indiana Law Blog]
Lawyers send clients to chiropractor, he sends clients to lawyers, circle of life continues [Louisville Courier-Journal via Legal Blog Watch]

Filed under: Connecticut, food safety, judges, patent litigation, prosecution, Richard Blumenthal, securities litigation, Toyota, Wisconsin

Unlawful for hardware store to give customers free coffee and doughnuts

So says the health department in Ventura County, Calif., rebuffing the B & B Do It Center of Camarillo. [Ventura County Star]

More: In a followup story (h/t gitarcarver), county officials say they were drawn into enforcement action because the store had been demonstrating barbecue makers using actual meat, and then proceeded to add the edict barring coffee and doughnuts.

Filed under: food safety

Cut grapes into pea-sized portions?

It seems the American Academy of Pediatrics wants just about every non-pureed food you can think of — carrots, apples, hot dogs — to carry a warning label about the risk of choking to children. “Some say other risky foods, including hard candies, popcorn, peanuts and marshmallows, shouldn’t be given to young children at all.” [AP; Free-Range Kids] More from Patrick at Popehat: “What Are Your Child’s Odds Of Choking To Death On A Hot Dog?”

And: For better child safety, think like an economist, says Steven Horwitz: don’t let worst-case scenarios rule your thinking and recognize that every good comes with tradeoffs [Free-Range Kids]

Filed under: child protection, food safety, safety

LAPD hassles food trucks

Urbanites appreciate the food, but restaurants don’t like the competition (Reason.tv).

See also related item from last summer (nearby Orange County).

Filed under: food safety, Los Angeles