Health department raids community picnic and destroys all food with bleach

A Distinctive World ^

[Sopater]

We were told our food was unfit for consumption and demanded that we call off the event...

Quail Farm

The evening was everything I had dreamed and hoped it would be. The weather was perfect, the farm was filled with friends and guests roaming around talking about organic, sustainable farming practices. Our guests were excited to spend an evening together. The food was prepared exquisitely. The long dinner table, under the direction of dear friends, was absolutely stunningly beautiful. The music was superb. The stars were bright and life was really good. And then, …for a few moments, it felt like the rug was pulled out from underneath us and my wonderful world came crashing down. As guests were mingling, finishing tours of the farm, and while the first course of the meal was being prepared and ready to be sent out, a Southern Nevada Health District employee came for an inspection.

Community Dinner at Quail Farm

Because this was a gathering of people invited to our farm for dinner, I had no idea that the Health Department would become involved. I received a phone call from them two days before the event informing me that because this was a “public event” (I would like to know what is the definition of “public” and “private”) we would be required to apply for a “special use permit.” If we did not do so immediately, we would be charged a ridiculous fine. Stunned, we immediately complied.
We were in the middle of our harvest day for our CSA shares, a very busy time for us, but Monte immediately left to comply with the demand and filled out the required paper work and paid for the fee. (Did I mention that we live in Overton, nowhere near a Health Department office?) Paper work now in order, he was informed that we would not actually be given the permit until an inspector came to check it all out. She came literally while our guests were arriving! In order to overcome any trouble with the Health Department of cooking on the premises, most of the food was prepared in a certified kitchen in Las Vegas; and to further remove any doubt, we rented a certified kitchen trailer to be here on the farm for the preparation of the meals.

The inspector, Mary Oaks, clearly not the one in charge of the inspection as she was constantly on the phone with her superior Susan somebody who was calling all the shots from who knows where.

We were told our food was unfit for consumption and demanded that we call off the event because:

EH Specialist II Mary Oakes

1. Some of the prepared food packages did not have labels on them. (The code actually allows for this if it is to be consumed within 72 hours.)
2. Some of the meat was not USDA certified. (Did I mention that this was a farm to fork meal?)
3. Some of the food that was prepared in advance was not up to temperature at the time of inspection. (It was being prepared to be brought to proper temperature for serving when the inspection occurred.)
4. Even the vegetables prepared in advance had to be thrown out because they were cut and were then considered a “bio-hazard”.
5. We did not have receipts for our food. (Reminder! This food came from farms not from the supermarket! I have talked with several chefs who have said that in all their years cooking they have never been asked for receipts.)

At this time Monte, trying to reason with Susan to find a possible solution for the problem, suggested turning this event from a “public” event to a “private” event by allowing the guests to become part of our farm club, thus eliminating any jurisdiction or responsibility on their part. This idea infuriated Susan and threatened that if we did not comply the police would be called and personally escort our guests off the property. This is not the vision of the evening we had in mind! So regretfully, again we complied.

The only way to keep our guests on the property was to destroy the food

Bleach is poured on organic food

I can’t tell you how sick to my stomach I was watching that first dish of Mint Lamb Meatballs hit the bottom of the unsanitized trash can. Here we were with guests who had paid in advance and had come from long distances away anticipating a wonderful dining experience, waiting for dinner while we were behind the kitchen curtain throwing it away! I know of the hours and labor that went into the preparation of that food. We asked the inspector if we could save the food for a private family event that we were having the next day. (A personal family choice to use our own food.) We were denied and she was insulted that we would even consider endangering our families health. I assured her that I had complete faith and trust in Giovanni our chef and the food that was prepared, (obviously, or I wouldn’t be wanting to serve it to our guests).

Farm food is destroyed

I then asked if we couldn’t feed the food to our “public guests” or even to our private family, then at least let us feed it to our pigs. (I think it should be a criminal action to waste any resource of the land. Being dedicated to our organic farm, we are forever looking for good inputs into our compost and soil and good food that can be fed to our animals. The animals and compost pile always get our left over garden surplus and food. We truly are trying to be as sustainable as possible.) Again, a call to Susan and another negative response. Okay, so let me get this right. So the food that was raised here on our farm and selected and gathered from familiar local sources, cooked and prepared with skill and love was even unfit to feed to my pigs!?! Who gave them the right to tell me what I feed my animals? Not only were we denied the use of the food for any purpose, to ensure that it truly was unfit for feed of any kind we were again threatened with police action if we did not only throw the food in the trash, but then to add insult to injury, we were ordered to pour bleach on it.

Food Lined up to Be Destroyed by Health Department

Now the food is also unfit for compost as I would be negligent to allow any little critters to nibble on it while it was composting and ingest that bleach resulting in a horrible death. Literally hundreds of pounds of food was good for nothing but adding to our ever increasing land fill! At some point in all of this turmoil Monte reminded me that I had the emergency phone number for the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) on our refrigerator. I put it there never really believing that I would ever have to use it. We became members of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund several years ago as a protection for us, but mostly to add support to other farmers battling against the oppressive legal actions taken against the small farmers trying to produce good wholesome food without government intrusion. The local, sustainable food battle is being waged all across America! May I mention that not one battle has been brought on because of any illness to the patrons of these farms! The battles are started by government officials swooping down on farms and farmers like SWAT teams confiscating not only the wholesome food items produced but even their farm equipment! Some of them actually wearing HAZMAT suits as if they were walking into a nuclear meltdown! I have personally listened to some of their heart wrenching stories and have continued to follow them through the FTCLDF’s updates.

Please Help By Signing the Petition!

[PA Engineer]

She has evil written all over that ugly face.

[Utilizer]

I understand, mate, however at least at most of the gatherings I have attended if you did not bring something to contribute to the get-together then something contributed monetarily to assist with the expenses was not without merit. For friends, an invite to one of _their_ get-togethers was acceptable in return. I do not recall reading that these people were putting the meal together in order to generate a profit, therefore such an event falls under the ‘private’ label. At least as I understand it from the few legal professionals I have discussed matters with.

[RedMDer]

It is the smug face of satisfied evil.

[Future Snake Eater]

Well, they need to clarify place and timeframe. Drop the “dark and stormy night” narrative style and report the facts of the incident. Was this Federal thugs or state thugs? Have they contacted the USDA or their county health board or ANYONE about this incident? If so, what did they say? Have they approached any lawyers about this?

I could go on, but you get the point.

[Utilizer]

Exactly: if they were not putting the gathering together intending to make a business of it, or to generate a profit from it, then a fee to help defray costs is understandable of course.

Granted, as you say: a jar or other container of some type labeled 'Donations' would have provided compelling evidence later on as well.

[gaijin]

If you don’t have video, then it didn’t happen.

Did you get video?

[trisham]

This story doesn’t make sense to me.

[parisa]

And I bet you every one of these “whole food” useful idiots voted for the transformative community marxist.

[funfan]

So you think it is just a set up so people will sign their petition?

[Nik Naym]

I’m thinking there is something we are not being told. I see the word “organic” used too many times.

I would like to hear the rest of the story before taking sides on this one.

[BRL]

If every American could only experience this lesson so vividly. I am glad this is happening. I suspect that 100 people have had a real change of heart about how good big government is.

[org.whodat]

Sounds like the dumb kid selling rabbits story. Hay people if you sell processed food, you are a restaurant, you need a license and inspection, not hard for most people to understand.

[This I Wonder32460]

They should have been serving school cafeteria chicken nuggets as some school board as deemed them more nutritious then a homemade turkey sandwich with cheese. Geez! The insanity.

[thesearethetimes...]

I agree wholeheartedly. They could really build on their case by documenting the overall trend, but alas I don’t think they really get the full scope of things outside of the infringement on our food freedoms : \

I think that the poster upthread who said that a fair number of the guests probably had voted for 0 is right, but the good news is that the small farmers definitely get it and raids like this FINALLY get the attention of the useful idiots.

God willing, they will start to connect the dots.

Dear Lord, give us strength and wisdom.
Tatt

[muawiyah]

We did some research for that earlier thread and it was pretty easy to find where they announced the event and set a price for it.

So, there you go ~ the conditions required to get a permit ~ and to adhere to the law in every particular.

We don't need to go into the risks these laws seek to mitigate to understand that if you run a business that involves food or drink there are some basic sanitation laws you MUST adhere to.

Now if they were just giving the food away that would be something else.

[kitkat]

“Frankly, this whole thing raises a lot of questions. I’m more confused than outraged.”

Me, too. But then, it hit me: Somebody forgot to pay off the inspectors ahead of time.

[gogogodzilla]

Yes, push for enforcement of laws that have no defining standards by which to enforce them.

Like I said:

Don’t look for sympathy from “conservatives” anymore. They’re just as happy to see the government control every aspect of your life as the liberals.

All that matters is whose ideology will be enforced, now.

Not only are you supportive of unconstitutional government intrusion into our lives (thus opening the door for others)... you are supportive of them being so vague as to mean anything, just like what happened to those mentioned in the thread's article.

And you also don't see any connection.

Wow.

[Cyber Liberty]

“Color of Law.”

[Mears]

I’m a smoker. They started coming after us 25 years ago now it’s the organic food folks’ turn.

That’s the way it is.

[muawiyah]

The ol'gal in Pennsylvania who spent most of her life campaigning against Senator Santorum's residency in Pennsylvania was also into finding foster homes for abandoned bunny rabbits.

That right there turned her into someone who violates the bunny rabbit farmers' bunny rabbit marketing order.

Before that deal with the people getting the $90,000 fine over bunny rabbits I had not realized how narrow that order is and how few bunnies it takes to be covered by the act.

There is a sound health reason for maintaining close regulation of bunny rabbits ~ they recycle their own feces ~ which means those who raise the rabbits have to know what's going on with the rabbits to a degree not anticipated with most other animals. Even downstream rabbit meat gets watched more closely than other meat. Fellow who started JACKS restaurants (which all later turned into Popeyes) sold deep fat fried and broiled rabbit meat. It had a certain popularity. Alas, the costs of complying with regulations forced him out of rabbits and into dead chickens. I'm not sure it's the same interest behind today's Popeye's but that's how that started out.

BTW, I prefer squirrel. Totally unregulated except by state game departments and eagles.