Troubling Federal Food Safety Legislation

There are several bills currently being debated in committee that could have widespread and extreme impact on the way we grow and process food for sale in the future. Spurred by the recently publicized issues of food contamination with dangerous pathogens (peanuts, jalepeno peppers, salad greens), Congress and the new administration have reacted by proposing specific new legislation to improve oversight and practices in the agriculture and food industries. But in the process, some question whether they are legislating small farms out of business. In some cases it might make it impossible for a small farm — currently selling safe food to the public under existing regulations — to qualify for insurance, and/or legally sell to retailers because they don’t have the staff required to comply with the paperwork, or their farm is geographically incapable of passing a “Good Agricultural Practices” (GAP) certification test.

The primary bill at issue is HR 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act, which would establish a new Food Safety Administration, separate from FDA. Farms would be required to maintain more detailed records and use “good practice standards”. However the means of maintaining records (some of which are already mandated under FDA oversight), and their definition of “good practice standards” seem to tilt heavily toward central food processing by large corporations, rather than by small family farms.

Three other bills — establishing a “trace back” system, mandating livestock identification (NAIS and beyond), and mandating annually audited HAACP programs with inspections paid by farmers — raise similar concerns, and MOFGA has a good overview of all these issues, as well as their updated status in the legislative process.

MOFGA has

In a recent article in the UMaine newspaper, Scott Boulanger of Olde Oak Farm spoke about the impact these proposed changes to food regulation would have on his operation.

Ricotta As Local As Your Kitchen

Portland Press Herald columnist Anne Mahle writes about how to make ricotta in your own kitchen:

Thanks to the surge in interest in “keeping it local,” good things are happening — to our economies and to the quality of our food.

What’s true for that carrot also is true for fresh cheeses and dairy products. And it’s easy to make your own ricotta, yogurt, buttermilk and even cheeses such as mozarella, fromagina and ricotta salata.

New Market Idea in Waterville

Waterville will christen the “Barrels Community Market” at 74 Main St. on June 21st — an indoor market offering local food year round. The Waterville Sentinel highlighted the participation of the Kennebec Cheesery in their article last week covering their April 22 open house:

“I think it’s going to be a wonderful addition to downtown,” said Kimberly N. Lindlof, president and chief executive officer of the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce. “It should really complement existing businesses such as Jorgensen’s and Joseph’s Market and be a real asset to the restaurants that are here.”