Thursday, November 20, 2008

Big Brother Coming to a Neighborhood Bake Sale Near You

Thanks to Linda WHOOPS...I mean LYNDA (sorry) at What Is Going On? for reprinting this, and to Sandy at the Junkfood Science blog, for providing this to us:

It’s already being called Posole-gate.

“The more we look to the government to protect us, the more freedoms we lose,” said one resident. This became a reality today when government health officials went after an 84-year old tradition and told the nuns at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that their church dinner of homemade posole, tamales and biscochitos was against the law. Every December 14th, after the Our Lady of Guadalupe procession, church ladies have served traditional posole and biscochitos for parishioners and the public. The Environment Health Department, however, determined the potluck was a threat to public safety and a violation of the city’s food ordinance.

“Our concern here is only about public safety,” John Soladay, Albuquerque’s environmental health director, told the Albuquerque Journal. Homemade food doesn’t comply with city law, which is intended to protect the public from contaminated food, he said. It’s no different from homemade cupcakes and cookies, nachos and popcorn no longer being allowed in schools because they might put children at risk of foodborne illnesses.

I wasn’t aware that there have been far too many people poisoned, made ill, by participating in Community Pot-Luck style meals.

Schools and churches and community centers of all kinds have been holding/hosting pot-luck dinners, bake sales, picnics for decades………..all of them open to the public. I’ve never seen any news reports of outbreaks of illness because of this. The only stories like it I’ve seen have been from cruise ships/restaurants/produce we buy in the stores!!!

According to the story in the Albuquerque Journal a city official states:

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

No Home Cookin’ at Festival

COPYRIGHT:Copyright 2008 Albuquerque Journal

By Olivier Uyttebrouck
Journal Staff Writer

A city official said Tuesday that because the event is open to the public, the church must abide by city laws for food handling and distribution.

“Our concern here is only about public safety,” said John Soladay, Albuquerque’s environmental health director.

City law “stipulates that food prepared for distribution to the public must be prepared in an approved kitchen,” he said. “Food prepared at home does not meet that criteria.”

The city ordinance is intended to protect the public from contaminated food, he said.

So, food prepared at home doesn’t meet the cities safety standards? Then why are people allowed to poison themselves? I mean if you don’t trust the people to cook for their friends and neighbors for a block party, then why trust them to cook for themselves?


All this “safety” nonsense is going way too far now if you ask me. This festival has been held for more that three-quarters of a century and NOW the city wants to pull this crap? Talk about government going too far. It’s enough to make me want to cook up a storm and offer the food on my front lawn to anyone who passes by!!

What’s next? Can’t feed your guests because you might have contaminated food? Well guess what? THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THE CHEMICALLY LADEN FOOD IN THE STORES IS ANY SAFER!!!!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

How ridiculous. Will they be coming to people's Thanksgiving get together and check the food. Where does it stop?

This makes me want to go out and open a lemonade stand or something. I think I just might be an antagonist.

Mookie said...

TBS-
Thanks for stopping in. If you check out Lynda's blog, you'll see my first comment in which I faked a letter from our big brother representative. The main theme on her blog is a general take on things going down the tubes when it comes to governmental issues (intervention or induced) in this country. you really should check it out!

Anonymous said...

Mike, you have a typo dear.....you misspelled my name. You leave me no choice but to call your wife and inform her that you need a whipping..........LOL

Thanks for the plug. Glad you enjoy my tearing apart all the pathetic crap that is happening lately. Especially in the area of 'big brother, nanny-style' intrusions and theft of our liberties.

Mookie said...

Lynda with a Y-
you will see that I have now corrected it...I dont know how to make that little cross out mark like some of you other fancy bloggers do, so you have to do with the added typing.

Anonymous said...

Good boy!!! hehehehehe

I knew you had redeeming qualities!

ROFLMAO

Anonymous said...

We just baked a few dozen cookies for a school bakesale this weekend. I'm glad that's still allowed :-) That does seem to border on the absurd. I'll go read the original on the blog you cite.