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

[Farmerboy16]

My sister was not crying over the labeling issue, she was upset over the rude attitudes of the inspectors and the market manager. They had expected her to know the rules, which she did not! She tend to get emotional. We did have tape, but it was so windy, that 3 of the vendor's tents blew over their truck and broke. My mom have been trying to make labels for the baked goods, and she is very careful about how she bakes them, so that they wont get contaminated, and wrap them in plastic wrap. I have farm business cards, can I use them on my used egg cartons? I will be prepared for next week market on Thursday. As for the eggs, I hand wash them, and inspect for cracks, and keep them cool, sometime if I need more eggs to fill the cartons, I would run out to the hen house and grab what I need, so these have not been refrigerated, but fresh, is that ok? Thanks for all of the advises and help.

 

[Farmerboy16]

Also on some things that the inspector and the market manager said that they told my sister to do, my mom looked online, and some of the things that the inspector and the manager said was wrong.

 

[Carols Clucks]

Next time be prepared with a notebook with the laws and rules for your state and county so you can ask questions of the inspector.

But with all the people with allergies, it might be a good idea to keep labeling your items.



We sold for eons at the local swap meet, but stopped when the inspectors wanted us to buy a refrigerator truck to transport fruit from trees to market. Since they were fresh picked and the cost of a refrigerated truck ridiculous....we stopped selling and years later I am still cutting down old fruit trees to plant different varieties just for us.

I also ran a little league snack bar....we had all kinds of trouble and since I was a busy volunteer and single mom with 3 sons in the league and just filling in til they could find a snack bar manager....we were probably the only little league in the country that could not serve a hot dog or popcorn.

Good luck and don't give up!

 

[cassie]

Get a copy of the regulations. Just because the inspector says the rule is such and such doesn't mean it is. When I had my goat dairy I had a new inspector or two tell me things that were just flat out wrong. Also inspectors need to learn to be tactful and not use their position to throw their weight around. Two local milk inspectors learned that the hard way a few years ago. One kept hassling this one old dairyman over something really insignificant but he kept going on and on about it. The next thing the milk inspector knew, he was swimming in the manure lagoon. The dairyman was most solicitous as he gave him a hand to help him out. Told the inspector he needed to watch where he was going so he didn't "slip". He got the hint. The other inspector found himself swimming around in a bulk tank full of cold milk. This dairyman got in a bit of trouble, but that inspector learned his lesson, too. If a person in authority is reasonable and polite, most people are willing to do what is necessary to fix the problem. If they run roughshod over people, they may wish they hadn't.

A new health inspector in Chinatown in San Francisco decided Peking duck was unsafe to eat because it wasn't refrigerated. Now, the fact that people had been eating these ducks for hundreds of years did not impress this guy. Over a period of a few weeks he would confiscate some ducks and send them to UC Davis to be tested for pathogens. Davis was delighted to oblige. You see, the tests require only a small sample. Want to guess what happened to the rest of the duck? One of the lab techs told me that if they had been smart they would have said some of the tests were inconclusive. Then they would have had to test more ducks and prolonged this delicious windfall a bit longer. He said they didn't think of that until later.

 

[teeville5]

Perhaps I am wrong, but my understanding of the cottage law was that each individual baked good had to have its own label. Someone else mentioned that it could be for the sake of those with allergies and such which would make sense when you think about it.
That aside, your sister's experience with the inspector has to be looked at objectively since it's a he said/she said thing. I cannot say the inspector was rude, but if they came up against someone inexperienced in what they were selling (even if they were just filling in) who was getting emotional that probably didn't make the situation go well and that's where the rudeness likely came into play. I would suggest you take what the inspector said and apply it until further notice because they will most likely be back and you don't want to get shut down. In the meantime, instruct your sister on the rules and on your goods and then get all the rules/laws/mandates printed out so that next time if the inspector claims you have to do something in a particular way, you can pull out your handy little folder and point out that you are following the guidelines as mandated. Good luck.

I wish you all the best.

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

Quick note on Michigan law.... eggs are required to be refrigerated while selling at a Farmers Market. It's a statewide law. Here's a liink:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MDA_FOOD_Farmers_Market_Masters_110707_7.pdf

They also need to be in new egg cartons.

 

[pips&peeps]

cottage law

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mda/MDA-CFFAQ-MASTER_327558_7.pdf

pies that require refrigeration are not allowed, so your pie was ok, except for the missing label

 

[classicsredone]

I would definitely keep a small binder on you with print outs from the state's website or rulebooks. Have your sister read up on them so that she feels more comfortable talking to an inspector. She'll be less likely to feel emotional if she knows the rules and can try to have a polite conversation with the inspector. Do your best to follow the regulations to a T. I agree with firmly but politely saying "Sir, you do not need to be rude. I am doing my best to understand so that I can change our policy." That will make a person stop the inappropriate behavior most of the time.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Quote:
This x 2. None of us on this forum can know what, if any, rudeness was involved since we did not witness the interaction. So we should not just collectively curse the inspector for doing their job. If rules are not followed and somebody gets sick who is going to come under fire? Some people get upset or frustrated when told they need to do things differently or that they are not "up to code" so to speak. And maybe the inspector was indeed rude or impatient, who knows. They do, to an extent, expect sellers to know the rules.
Either way I'm sure it was an uncomfortable situation for your sister since it was her first time running the stand.

Find out the regualtions for what you sell, make sure you are following all of them and keep a printed copy with you.

 

[Gingerlilypad]

I run a small flea market on Friday and Saturdays. I agree with having a print out of the rules and regulations. That way if anyone has any questions, I have the information handy. I keep it in a notebook in my van.
As for labels, print or write the labels during the week. If the ingredients are always the same, save bit so you can cut, paste and print.

I don't accept people being rude to me about my items, but I also keep up on the law, so I am able to quote it along with the reference, so if they want to act like they know everything...