My sister was harassed at a farmer's market! RANT!!

[chicmom]

Well, when you think about it, it's been very very hot lately, and food poisoning can run rampant........It's really a very small thing.....Labels are easy to make, and you can just get stick on labels, write on the name and price.

And I'm not sure about refridgeration......If you don't have a fridge there, maybe your mom can just make fruit pies....

Regarding your eggs, if a cooler isn't good enough, you guys might have to buy a mini fridge that you can plug in. Or maybe another seller would share their fridge with you.......

People can just be so darned rude....Inspectors do come off like that, and that's really not very professional of them. I have to deal with people all day long at my job, and what I do is check their work, sometimes calling them or returning work with mistakes. I try to be as nice as possible to them........Sometimes they do get angry with me though.

So, if you go back to the market, just make sure you've taken the inspector's advice....

So sorry he was a jerk or a bully! He should have just been more courteous and helpful to your sister.

Take care,
Sharon

 

[Mattemma]

Sorry your sister was crying. Now that things have calmed down you can go over all that the inspector said and make the changes(plus some!) to be ready next time.It will be very pleasing for you to have him inspect and not be able to cite you for anything the next time! Just be sure to smile.People who get attitude will give it right back.

It stinks that people with that sort of power can act rude and get away with it.All you can do in response is smile and thank them for pointing out the mistakes you made.

 

[welsummerchicks]

My guess is that 99% of the rudeness was in the eye of the behiolder.

If someone is so sensitive that they start crying because someone tells them to label their pies and use clean cartons, they shouldn't be running a farm stand.

People get mad and defensive, and you can say, 'Hi!' and they think you're being rude.

 

[bullyforme]

A cooler should be fine for eggs-I have NEVER been to any farmer's market where they had eggs in a refrigerator. Maybe you could pack the cooler with ice/cold packs and bring a thermometer to prove to the inspector your eggs are at a safe temperature. Sorry she was such a jerk, some people should just not have jobs that require them to deal with other people.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

If the inspector is rude next time, you can either call their supervisor (I'm guessing food inspectors have one?) and politely and calmly place a complaint, or, you can look them in the eye and say, "excuse me sir/ma'am, there is no reason to be rude". I got really good at that one when I used to work security. Amazing how often calling people out on their bad behavior stopped it. It doesn't work with everyone, but typically works with people who are trying to seem important.

 

[paperdragonfarm]

I don't think it's overly sensitive to be upset when some authoritarian bureaucrat waltzes in and starts ordering you around. Especially the sort you tend to get at farmers markets, who think that anything home made is oozing with listeria and salmonella and you personally are some kind of leprous deviant for selling such things. I know first hand how intimidating and demeaning some one being "reasonable" can be. Reasonable be buggered, it's none of their business! And this is a farmers market for gods sake! It's not like you need the steely nerves of a bouncer to sell things! And an obviously young 16 year old to boot. How is she supposed to work up the confidence to deal with conflict if she doesn't go right back to work?

That being said, it's far easier to catch flies with honey. (I wish there was an irony icon.) Much like dealing with police or military, placating while doing your own thing is best. If they sense you question their authority at all, you'll be marked for extra scrutiny and things get even more complicated from there. So chin up and take a deep breath! Now is the time to learn what you can and can't get away with, and practice the conflict dance of the bureaucrat. It's a useful skill to have, especially if you want to change the laws that give this stranger power over you to start with. Good luck!

 

[cuntryuppiechick]

Quote:
Too many years in food handling to count so my statement was made based on my experiences. Knowing the correct procedures and having them on hand is not a bad attitude, it is responsible and protects oneself from further harassment and possible legal difficulties if they were to have a food borne outbreak due to their mishandling of product. And I do line up at the pie stand at my farmers market since my oven doesn't work. Finished the last piece Wednesday. Peace!

 

[BarefootMom]

I am sorry your sister was so mistreated, there would be an easier way to go about things- the health inspector should be a better people person to be in that line of work. that being said, Labeling is not that hard, you can buy those stick on labels at the store and run them through your printer. I don't like to buy things that don't have a label. Most places want the ingredients listed on the item incase there is an allergy or something in them. And I know you said you had labels in front of them, but I sometimes forget when I get home. So it is nice to have that so I can remember. Also some people like to know all ingredients incase they are watching sodium or are diabetic. I know a lot of people will write the recipe on the pie on a recipe card (they mark the prices up a bit too since you are getting the recipe though)

As for the eggs if they had been refrigerated before (at your house) I would want them to be refrigerated, I don't like sweating eggs. But if not it wouldn't bother me. I know here in order to sell eggs you have to have labels on your carton with your name, phone number, and license number. They don't get to uppity about not having new cartons though.

 

[greeneggsandham]

Where you give a set of rules and guidelines to follow for the Farmers Market when you first started going?

If not then the inspector really should have been giving grief to the organizers of the market.

Yes there are nice inspectors and then there are ones that think they are above everyone else and think they can bully people around.

Go next week and see if the inspector comes back. Do make sure you have labels on the baked goods and as for the egg cartons. That one is a bit odd as I go to several different markets in three different states during the Summer and I have seen clean used egg cartons being used.

 

[Livinzoo]

Here we have to have labels with ingredients listed on it. Maybe you could use a cooler for the pies too. You could always set the pies on display on ice packs to keep them cool. It is a good idea to know the rules and if the inspector believes differently that the rules you were told work with them to figure it out.