> >From: "P. Armstrong" <[log in to unmask]> > >Date: Wed, 25 Oct 1995 16:08:09 +0000 > >Subject: Regulations requiring food processing license > > >Do any of you know of regulations requiring a food preperation > >license requirement in other states? Here in New Mexico we are > >facing such a requirement. If anyone has any info on how we can > >scientifically, or otherwise, put up an argument that has worked > >elsewhere we would sure appreciate your help. We are having a > >meeting on Oct 31 to fight against this. Thanks. Nick Melancon > >New Mexico Bee Keepers Assoc. > > Good Luck Nick, but it will take some work to kill such regulation > if it is well sponsored like by the state health department or some > organization. (It may also be someone within your own group that is > after his competition, you need to know.) > > I don't know of any regulations requiring on farm honey processing > plants to be regulated as a "food preparation" site like say a Taco > Bell or even a Mexican tortilla factory . Realistic inspection's that > would include beekeeper's honey processing plants will take away from > the little inspection that is now going on in other areas. (Find out how > many time's the greasy spoon's in your town are being inspected. You may > be surprised that they are only checked once a year or less or if > someone complains enough, more often. Also find out the number of > reported illness from your state health department.) > > To defeat this kind of legislation the first thing you have to do > is find out who is pushing it and why. If it is just another plan > to increase your taxes you many have a better shot at killing it > then if it's in response to people becoming ill or just concerned > because they found some bee part's in some honey they were given > by their neighbor who has some bee's. Or if there is some beekeeper > who is a neighborhood nuisance because bee's are robbing honey drums > or some other dumb stunt beekeeper's are know to pull. > > Honey extraction is a specialized "on farm" or back yard seasonal event > and does not warrant the same degree of on site inspection as other > "food preparation" sites. The cost of such activity is high because of > the seasonal nature and isolation of these operations and would not be > covered by normal or reasonable licence fee's and would add to the > budget for inspection already mandated or reduce valuable man day's from > that important job. The number of complaint's of illness or food > poisoning from eating Honey processed on the farm does not exist and in > total is the lowest of all farm processed foods. In many medium to > larger operation's honey produced on the farm is further processed by > the first handler where inspection is mandatory, both local and federal. > Honey produced by producers who use the Farm Loan Program is covered by > USDA specialized Honey Inspections to qualify for government programs > and is inspected. > > (check with your state health department to see what is going on if > anything, also find out who is pushing for the new legislation. You may > find some group or person that has a hard on for beekeeper's or just > some nut who think's all farmers should be regulated to the hilt since > you we all get so much help (cash) from the government.) > > Today 99% of the time you are just facing a plan to increase government > income and not any realistic effort to clean up the honey producing > industry. (Find out what your state beekeeper's are already paying in > county and state taxes for being beekeepers.) > > Most state legislator's will listen to beekeeper's, we are rare birds > and a interesting lot. Bee sure you have a small group of beekeepers who > are prepared to discuss the issue and have a FIRM position that they > are not afraid to "say it the way they see it". Ask to testify at > any public hearing and do that. Ask for more public hearings, make a > record to back your own position. Do not compromise your own position > leave that to the politicians they will do it to you anyway and any > weakening of your position will be taken advantage of. > > Having some political sense can be very helpful, find out which side > is pushing the bill and what the leadership position is on it. You must > meet with member of both sides, but suck up to the one that is not > sponsoring it and if God is watching out for you they will be the > majority party and more then willing to help you kill any plan for > new laws. Legal help from one of the capital lawyers can be helpful but > will not get it done. They can open doors, and show you the process but > unless there are some big bucks involved you all are going to have to do > the work. Meet one on one with your own representatives. Get the support > of other farm group's, but do NOT let them carry your ball or you may > find you have one less. > > Now if the honey producer's in your state contain more then a few people > who still extract in tent's or in old barn's with dirt floors you may > not want to do anything and let nature .err government take it tole. > Two states I have worked in have made different run's on cleaning up > the beekeeper's and normally these last one season and that's the last > you hear of them for years or never.Beekeeper's have cleaned up over the > years from what it once was, which was satisfactory at the time, but > is not today. Some of this was good and needed, but one thing that was > done that was bad was a crack down by the USDA that finished off the > portable and out yard extracting. I believe that if we were still doing > it it the field today we would be producing more for less and not have > the problems with our bee's we do have today. I also think we would be > doing it a van that would be just as clean as any permanent site, but > those day's are gone and I don't think that is your problem. > > Over the year's my honey house has been targeted for inspection by > every government agency there is. Some of this has benefited me and > some of it has been enough to cause any beekeeper to brake up and > roll on the floor. California several time's has got a wild hair to > inspect honey extracting plants. One such visit came when I was out of > state. At the time I had just installed the top of the line extracting > equipment, I was on the cutting edge then, not the bleeding one like > now. This included a wonderful flash heater and centrifuge that > separated out the honey and melted the wax. Had to add a new 200 amp > service for that one. This machine was the early stage of development of > the Cook & Beals Separator. Anyway the first tizzy the inspector pulled > was when he saw the lifelike rubber plucked chicken that hung over the > fancy imported Penrose uncapping machine. "You can't do that in here, > you need to get a different licence to do both chicken's and honey in > the same place." God's truth, he really believed that we were plucking > chicken's with the same machine we uncapped honey combs so my long time > help told me. This guy was so shook up he did not notice that at the > time all the honey from the two big Kelley extractors and the > cappings drained into a very large sump and that sump was covered by > boards that the man who loaded the extractor stood on, not a very good > set up that I changed the next season without any input from any > inspector. > > Everything was A OK when he found a wonderful and well built screen > that fit over a 55 gal drum that he assumed we screened the honey > through. Actually we only used it when we were taking the tank's down > and wanted to salvage any wax or junk left in the tank that we did > not want plugging up the drain or septic system. The honey that went > in these tanks was ready for shipment and required no further processing > other then putting it in the drums and weighing it. > > This guy did leave two legal size pages of suggestions, mostly > unrealistic thing's like fixing all the etching in the floor made > by the acid honey eating the cement. The only thing I could do was > take that chicken down. He never showed up again. > > Mousses americanis, or just mouse droppings was found in the basement > of my three story honey house on the western slopes of the Rockies in > Colorado. Some federal money was received to do a Honey House inspection > in Colorado and I was targeted. A young collage kid was hired for the > part time job and showed up with a flash light and found 4 or 5 little > smart pills in the basement that was plugged full of 55 gal drums of > clover honey in storage for the winter and under loan. That was all > he could find but enough to make him understandably happy in his work. > With no help from me when inspecting the upper storage area he lost his > carefully packaged and labeled packet of smart pills. He had to use a > flash light as I already had shut this operation down for the winter and > turned off the utilities, including taking in the gas meter that were > know to bust from the very low temps when not in use. Anyway I did not > want him to go back to the eastern slopes and Denver without any smart > pills and wanted to see just how far they would go with evidence like > this that had to be sent out to a lab for identification when any dam > fool could see what it was so I took him back down to the basement and > moved a few drums around so he could find another sample of smart pills. > Months later I received this official looking letter from the state > and included was the lavatory report that the smart pill were indeed > the spore of the mousses americanis and not fossilized buffalo chips > which I had framed and hung on the wall in one of my offices. > > The last time I was inspected was several years ago when a real > lawyer-doctor type state health department man showed up at my front > door about noon and demanded to inspect my honey house which is several > miles away from my home. After several hours of filling his head with > all the legal reason's he would do that over my dead body I decided to > let him do his job without further blood shed when he changed the > demand to a polite request much to the surprise and amusement of a > farmer friend who was visiting and enjoying every minute. The inspection > was a joy to watch, and the guy could not believe what he was looking > at and saw no reason for any more Honey House inspections as we were > not at all what he expected and only made one suggestion that I cover > the florescent tube's with plastic tubing and I did that as it was a > good idea having cleaned a broken one's out of a wax vat once. I > would have never know that these new at the time safety tubes were > then available if this guy had not shown up and it was a positive > experience, one of few and still not enough to open my door's to the > public or any government agent without the proper paper work and > introduction. I did have two county health people show up once in a fit > to inspect all honey houses but one call to the board of supervisor's > put them back on the right track. Thousands of people suffer from > improper food handling every year in my area, most of it from food > served at restaurants and gatherings. These place's are only inspected > once a year with prior notice because of budget and manpower > considerations that have not gotten any better over the years. > > Beekeeper's and the Honey they produce should be so low on the list > of things that government should worry about as far as new laws that > no one should waste the time. If it ain't broke no reason to brake it > and it would not take much to do that as these are the hard day's for > many beekeepers. > > Good Luck and I hope you will keep us posted. > > ttul Andy- > > > > (c)Permission to reproduce, granted. > Opinion is not necessarily fact. > --- > ~ QMPro 1.53 ~ This l l tagline has l l a few l l bees in it... > REPLY: Such an attempt was made in Maryland several years ago: the beekeepers put up such a loud howl all over the state that the idea was quickly dropped. So too w/ the proposed tax on each colony. Bonne chance. Jck the B- man John Iannuzzi PhD * "Singing masons building roofs 9772 Old Annapolis Rd * of gold." --Shakespeare Ellicott City MD 21042 usa * 20 Italian colonies [log in to unmask] * 3-1/2 decades in beedom