http://www.chron.com/life/healthzon...est-ever-seizure-of-7222243.php#photo-9731385
I have mixed opinions about food police, mostly because in looking at those 'busted' there seem to be three distinct categories, and the first two don't seem, to me, to warrant large scale destruction of the food involved.
The first are those who simply do not have the required certificate, and then the food, sometimes lots of it, is destroyed. I do not always agree with this. I have a feeling that sometimes certificates are not required for our 'safety', but rather as barriers to prevent competition, and to give large powerful companies an edge over small ones.
The second is the destruction of foodstuffs not ordinarily eaten here. There was a picture of a bunch of caterpillars. While I am not going to eat a caterpillar unless I am actually starving, if other people want to snack on them, I don't care.
Of course if a certain kind of foodstuff may carry disease, that is a different issue than simply being un-ordinary.
The third category is where actual safety may be an issue, such as smoking foodstuffs using garbage as fuel. That sort of contaminated food can be dangerous, and sometimes contamination may not be noticed until enough is eaten that illness or death is going to follow.
I have mixed opinions about food police, mostly because in looking at those 'busted' there seem to be three distinct categories, and the first two don't seem, to me, to warrant large scale destruction of the food involved.
The first are those who simply do not have the required certificate, and then the food, sometimes lots of it, is destroyed. I do not always agree with this. I have a feeling that sometimes certificates are not required for our 'safety', but rather as barriers to prevent competition, and to give large powerful companies an edge over small ones.
The second is the destruction of foodstuffs not ordinarily eaten here. There was a picture of a bunch of caterpillars. While I am not going to eat a caterpillar unless I am actually starving, if other people want to snack on them, I don't care.
Of course if a certain kind of foodstuff may carry disease, that is a different issue than simply being un-ordinary.
The third category is where actual safety may be an issue, such as smoking foodstuffs using garbage as fuel. That sort of contaminated food can be dangerous, and sometimes contamination may not be noticed until enough is eaten that illness or death is going to follow.