Government-Employed Assheads And Your Stomach
Janet Fletcher writes in the LA Times about FDA nitwits keeping some French cheese out of the country:
Roquefort -- France's top-selling blue -- is in the agency's cross hairs along with raw-milk versions of Morbier, St. Nectaire and Tomme de Savoie.In early August, these cheeses and many more landed on an FDA Import Alert because the agency found bacterial counts that exceeded its tolerance level. Cheeses on Import Alert can't be sold in the U.S. until the producer documents corrective action and five samples test clean, a process that can take months.
Of course, French creameries haven't changed their recipes for any of these classic cheeses. But their wheels are flunking now because the FDA has drastically cut allowances for a typically harmless bacterium by a factor of 10.
The limits for nontoxigenic E. coli were cut from 100 MPN (most probable number) per gram to 10 MPN. These are bacteria that live in every human gut; they are typically harmless and we coexist happily. But the FDA considers them a marker for sanitation: If a cheese shows even modest levels of nontoxigenic E. coli, the facility that produced it must be insufficiently clean.
Dennis D'Amico, an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut whose specialty is dairy microbiology, says this premise is flawed. But that's little comfort to producers whose cheeses are denied entry, like the prominent French affineur (cheese ager) Pascal Beillevaire. Or to the retailers who rely on these cheeses.
"We carried eight or nine Beillevaire cheeses, and we can't get any of them right now," says Andrew Steiner of Andrew's Cheese in Santa Monica. "People like him are just going to give up. The American market is not the biggest part of their business. If a shipment gets destroyed, they're likely to say, 'We're not trying that again.'"
Government assheads.
I happen to be deathly allergic to roquefort cheese (bizarre, late-in-life thing), but as for the other cheeses, anyone know of anyone becoming ill or dead from them?
Here's what should happen: The government can stamp cheeses they've inspected and people who believe that the government actually protects them can eat only those cheeses. Then the rest of us will have more of the yummy French cheeses (that don't have the flavor cooked out of them and then cooked out of them again) to ourselves.
Deal?
I guess government doesn't work that way. It's got to be stupid, stupid, stupid, across the board.
A relative lives near a Menonnite community in Chihauhua, Mexico. They are famous for their "Chihauhua Cheese" (no not made from the tiny nipples of the dogs). There are tons of copy cats both here in the US and in Mexico.
She brings me giant cheese wheels. I don't like dairy but I find it impolite to refuse so eventually I do give it away.
It tastes nothing like the US Mexican cheeses. It's really good.
I think the Mennonites own pizza chains now using their cheeses. Sad but they are being destroyed by the drug lords and I'm pretty sure will eventually leave Chihuahua.
(If I eat cheese it's the years old nutty variety)
Ppen at September 7, 2014 12:42 AM
Solution: have the usual favored class of immigrant carry Roquefort into the central valley (of California), where food businesses are getting statutory and de facto exemption from sanitation laws. It can thus be sold directly, or shipped out as "Central Valley Laundered".
doombuggy at September 7, 2014 8:51 AM
No risk is too small for the government to protect you from. Decent cheese, rare pork, children walking to school by themselves. You name it, we are supposed to be scared of it and thankful to our wonderful government for keeping us in swaddling clothes.
Bleah...
a_random_guy at September 7, 2014 12:12 PM
I'd have no problem with such government "safety oversights" if they were based on real science.
But, this seems to be another case of some bureaucrat said so; therefore, it must be so. With no real evidence to back it up.
Charles at September 7, 2014 1:13 PM
Let us never forget that our biggest problem with government is not who we elect, but that the public servants we depend on pay no penalty for poor performance.
If you depend on them, you can starve or fall victim to illness, and they will still have their job. They will not miss a meal. Remember this.
Radwaste at September 7, 2014 7:19 PM
I wonder if the dairy industry has influence on these standards. I've heard talk that bigger dairies don't want the competition from smaller players, but I don't know if that is correct. Seems if raw-milk cheeses becomes more popular, the big dairies would do the same.
On the other hand, regulations have eased in the poultry farms making it easier to process the birds, IIRC.
And something not in the news a lot, public jobs have fallen by 4% since 2009, and the deficit is shrinking quite a bit, FWIW.
Jason S. at September 7, 2014 8:52 PM
"I wonder if the dairy industry has influence on these standards."
What do you think production goals do?
If all you desire is volume of product, you have to do different things than if your goal is quality.
Again: because their process has been examined and found to offer public safety, the Happy Cow Creamery in SC can offer unpasteurized dairy products. Unless some party uninterested in company profit looks at what your vendor is doing, you just cannot be sure of what you are buying.
Radwaste at September 8, 2014 12:36 AM
Re: new poultry inspections -- from a Mother Jones article of spring 2014:
Jason S. at September 8, 2014 6:48 AM
No, not Morbier! That's one of my favorite cheeses.
Astra at September 8, 2014 9:06 AM
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