Fruitcakes

Jack Melton, an eighty six year old disabled World War II veteran, was banned from selling his homemade pecan-filled fruitcakes last December. He sold ten to fourteen dozen during the holiday season to supplement his Social Security income. It seems that the Health Department had a law banning the sale of food out of private residences in Shasta County. Fern Hastings, from the Department of Environmental Health, said “Melton must use a commercial bakery that has passed a health inspection even if he gives his cakes to the public.” Does this mean that our kitchens should be inspected before giving away our holiday gifts of homemade cookies? If the government is going to “crack down on someone shouldn’t they pick on someone who is not trying to earn a little extra cash to support himself by making a few measly fruit cakes. It seems that they should have better things to do like going after the larger corporations that will do anything to pass unsanitary food to consumers to make a buck. Or lower the allowable amount of natural contaminants in our food to a level that would be under what you would find in the average persons kitchen. In my view we aught to allow this man the sale of his fruitcakes, which are probably sold to acquaintances who are well aware of where they are made and the conditions of his kitchen. To make the Health Department happy, along with the homemade window sign offering the fruitcakes for sale could be a sign that says, “Buy at your own risk.”

Go to: http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/06/29/how_many_insect_parts_and_rodent_hairs_are_allowed_in_your_food.htm

to see how many contaminants are allowed in our food. It's scary!

Wow. I guess I don't even know where to start. I completely agree with you. I can't believe that the government can take that much time to make an elderly man stop selling his fruitcakes. Here is a man who is trying to make ends meet instead of depending on the government like so many do. I think they should let him post a sign saying buy at your own risk. It's only fair. This is where the government gets too involved in certain things and oversteps their duties.

That is just another incident where the government has there nose in the people's business way too much. Obvisiously the guy is a good baker or people wouldn't buy the fruit cakes. If this gentlemen were to go thru a commercial bakery the government would have their hands out to dip into any profit the poor guy would make plus take some of his social security. The guys kitchen is probably more sanitary than most commercial bakery. I wish the government could keep their nose out of the little guys business and monitor things that are more important in our country.