I'm from government and I'm here to help with FOOD SAFETY
I'm from government and I'm here to help...
This is the start of a new weekly blog I'm creating to shine a light on how regulations from government that we are told are needed to keep us safe in reality don't. I hope you enjoy this first installment.
Thank goodness we have the "Food Worker Card"
In most states food handlers are required to get a some version of a food worker card from the department of health to prove they know how to not get their patrons sick while serving them food. Because you know making your customers sick by serving spoiled, or bad food is a great business model and an amazing way to gain new customers. I mean making them sick and possibly killing them always ensures repeat customers and great word of mouth, am I right?
Imagine a world without the Department of Health regulating the Food Service industry
Just think of it, nasty and evil people purposely undercooking meat or not properly storing food so they make more profit at the expense of their customers health. Clearly its much better to be properly serving food that has been treated with chemicals like glyphosate, or containing dyes derived from chemicals and "natural" flavors that aren't so natural and those oh so healthy preservatives. All of these have been known to cause various health issues and of course are approved by government agencies like the FDA. Good thing government is looking our for us and not letting us eat poison.
Don't worry a magical card will keep consumers safe
In Washington state where I live within 14 days of starting employment at a food service establishment you are required to obtain a "Food workers card" because you know in the first 14 days you can't get people sick from the food you serve. I was required to obtain one of these magical cards last winter because my employer was being threatened and coerced with extortion threats if they didn't have all the food worker cards of their employees on file and the workers themselves having these magical cards on hand in case an inspector happened to come through and check for them. Of course the real magic of the card is paying $10 to an agency that already exists because it is taxpayer funded. Does it really cost $10 to provide a card to people who's salary is prepaid using equipment that is prepaid with tax money?
Don't even think of helping homeless people without the magical card
A few years ago I was regularly preparing food and handing it out to homeless people in my area. After a while I decided to link up with a local charity doing this work. I was told by the charity I would not be able to hand out food if I didn't obtain a food worker card. I mean a charity should have to spend some of their money on government regulations like this rather than the cause they are supporting don't you think? The charity was being threatened by the local health department with being shut down without proper permission to hand out food to homeless people. The audacity of handing food to people sleeping in alleys and streets that smell like urine and other human excrement who haven't showered in a week or more without asking permission from government first. Let's not forget, paying the $10 for the magical card will keep them from getting sick. How dare you think of helping those in your community with out proper compliance.
I hope you enjoy this blog and whether you did or didn't leave a comment with your thoughts on this subject...and always remember to question those who think they have authority over your life.
While I agree that the food (and almost every other) industry is over-regulated, food regulations do actually do some good.
Food service establishments may not want to intentionally poison their customers, but the truth is, a LOT of people in food service have absolutely no idea about how to keep food safe, until they're trained to do so. Very simple things in food safety, like cooling or cooking meats to proper temperatures, are REALLY important, and would be ignored (out of ignorance, or simply cost cutting) without regulation.
There are also the situations with large chains like Chipotle, who simply don't have the ability to test every bit of food they buy, and often find themselves distributing contaminated vegetables to their customers. Without our food regulations, it would be a lot more difficult to trace these poisonings back to Chipotle, find the source of the problem, and correct it. Without regulation, Chipotle could easily just buy out the stories of their E.Coli outbreaks and keep serving contaminated food, as long as the profits outweighed the lawsuits.
What did you have to do in order to obtain the card, other than pay the $10 that is. Was there an online course or something like that?