The initial farmer (figs, peppers, etc) who asked for my help is a Bulgarian Bio Chemist who was wooed by Stanford. He's retired (consulting) in MO and is raising fig trees in the midwest.....really cool operation. Anyway he was processing fig jam and specialty peppers (low acid) as well as tomato salsa.
Actually he was selling fried peppers at market too..... Probably for 3 years. I've known him, but he was never at a market I was managing.
So, the Health Dept essentially shut down his value added.....there's a 3 day low acid certifying course offered in KS and other obscure places for $800ish+ expenses. I asked SLU if they would do the three day training in STL but they came up with telling the farmers about their commercial processing plant (newly inspected, not up yet) that is part of a grant to process local food for a small school district and the nutrition cafeteria. The state inspector can do "home" (jams, honeys and most baked goods are ok to make in home) or commercial kitchens that are selling retail at farmers' markets.
Of course Ivan has acid meters and since he's a scientist is pretty savy about shtuff.....but it needs to go through the powers that be.
There are a handful of chefs in town raising for their restaurants, most are curing, canning, typical old world newly revised shtuff......they are getting jammed. Seriously jammed. As in having purchased wild mushrooms inspected by a mycologist?
Not being able to cure olives, or pickle or make syrups or jams.....curing whole different ball of wax. Now go 1 mile down the road and your in a different health dept district that permits all the above. The long term is to get legislation passed that will eliminate "blackmarket" or "bootleg" shtuff. I'm civic minded but not willing to put alot of energy into that project. It's a big one, it's a potential expensive one, it means dealing with legislators......
But I will setup a workshop and help farmers & chefs work through the county system. |