Posted on 02/23/2017 4:33:53 AM PST by servo1969
Wisconsinites who enjoy Kellygold Irish butter have been forced to venture across state lines to buy the gold foil packaged dairy goodness.
Butter protectionism in the Dairy State has made this foreign butter illegal.
An obscure regulation turns "ungraded butter" into contraband. Since Kerrygold isn't produced in the good ole U.S. of A., it's not graded and hence, illegal. Selling illicit butter bears a fine up to $1,000 and a possible six-month stint in the slammer.
If you haven't tasted Kerrygold, I can assure you it is definitely worth the drive across state lines. It's pricey, but worth every penny.
Wisconsin local news reports:
The issue here is an obscure state law from the 1970s that requires all butter sold in Wisconsin to be tested by a panel of experts and issued a letter grade for quality.
As a butter made in Ireland, Kerrygold is not graded in the U.S.
Lisa Miller is the marketing director for Ornua North America, the Irish dairy co-operative that markets Kerrygold butter in every U.S. state except Wisconsin.
She said the company had no idea selling Kerrygold in Wisconsin was illegal until the state began contacting distributors about the law.
"Our process of inspecting is a little bit different from the process here, the standards are universally very high," Miller said.
For Wisconsin, not high enough.
State statute spends pages detailing the steps needed to sell butter, and the 32 different quality points on which it needs to be judged.
Violating the butter law can result in fines upward of $1,000, or jail terms of six months.
People like Jean Smith wonder what that law is really doing -- shielding shoppers from inferior butter or fending off foreign competitors from Wisconsin's dairy industry.
"I feel suspicious. Who are you really trying to protect here? Are you protecting the consumers, are you protecting Wisconsin dairies?" Smith asked.
A spokesperson for the Dairy Business Association, an industry lobbying group, did not return our request for comment.
The state agency enforcing this law would only say what we already know.
A representative of the Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection said Kerrygold is making a conscious effort to follow the state law and adapt to Wisconsin requirements.
A spokeswoman for Kerrygold said they're looking at ways to comply with Wisconsin's ridiculous labeling requirements.
Were I Kerrygold, I'd tell the Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection where they could shove their crony regulations. But that's probably why I don't work in public relations.
Buncha greasy politicians.
Absolutely WONDERFUL stuff!
Health Benefits of Grassfed Cow Butter:
https://draxe.com/grass-fed-butter-nutrition/
The only brand equally as delicious is a cultured butter made by Organic Valley.
All the screaming from the Left about fascism. This is an example of textbook fascism. A private industry in bed with the government, and no doubt making political contributions, uses the government to kill competitors. That is textbook fascism . And by the way, once that Kerrygold butter; it's worth its price, which is about 2x that of regular butter.
I’m gunna have to try that stuff next time I make kaesespaetzle.
Kerrygold is a guilty pleasure.
You can buy that Walmart for a decent price. Good stuff.
It’s not illegal butter. It’s undocumented!
Here's the best deal on butter. Great product, great price
The Wisconsin dairy lobby has a well-deserved reputation for things like this being hidden in law.
The wiki page for Margarine tells some of the story https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margarine
But if you do a search for Margarine Act of 1950 (yep, Truman signed such a thing) and see the many articles, you will find that margarine had quite a battle to become readily available in the U.S. And the Wisconsin dairy lobby held out the longest of any state...until 1967.
Looks like Kerrygold ran afoul of one of those obscure statutes.
LOVE Kerrygold. I cook with Land O’ Lakes, but for toast? Kerrygold in the tub. Exquisite!
Back in the early-mid 60’s, cardiologists told their heart attack patients to skip butter for margarine. (we know better now). Oleo was outlawed because Wisconsin was the #1 butter producing state in the U.S. and they wanted to protect the industry.
My family used to frequently drive from Chicago back to our native Milwaukee. Once you came within 10 miles of the border, there dozens of stores with “OLEO” signs. It was considered polite to bring a few pounds of oleo to a Wisconsin relative with heart problems. LOL!
They take their dairy products very seriously in Cheesehead land.
How do the halal-compliant butcher shops pass the inspection test?
I buy Kerrygold at Trader Joe’s.
Organic Valley is not nearly as good as Gold. I’ve never tasted any butter as good. Interestingly—the foil packaging is a factor. Wax paper is not nearly as good at keeping away adulterating flavor as foil.
On the other hand, when you go to a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Wisconsin, you get REAL butter with your biscuits, NOT “Better Spread”, due to similar laws deprecating margarine and other non-butter “spreads”.
The Irish folks can just slap an “Irish Gold” or some such on the label to get around the rule.
If you haven’t tasted Kerrygold, I can assure you it is definitely worth the drive across state lines. It’s pricey, but worth every penny.
Absimundo...tasty and BUTTERY...
puts most all others to shame. Maybe the occasional artesianal
pounds from the farmer’s market is better
I keep several cartons of the stuff in case Costco gets a wild hair and drops it.....
And yeah, I suspect they are protecting their own dairies.
I’m sure our servants in Washington could fix this with a judicious application of the commerce clause.
Shades of the fifties:
My parents used to smuggle oleo from Illinois into Wisconsin in a 54 Buick Roadmaster. Us kids would watch out the back window for the coppers and warn Dad when we saw one. If the copper came up behind us the high speed chase over hill and dale would be on. Gunfire, jacked up engines, tight turns at insane speeds, it was glorious! Like smoky and the bandit.
Ok, it was more like we smuggled a case or two per year and we were pulled over by the coppers only on those occasions when we had no butter in the trunk. But it was still exciting to an 8 year old.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.