Byzantine Health Dept Regulations...
I own & run a coffee house. We make food & serve food there, so I get to deal with the health department. I think it's generally a good thing to have an agency safeguarding public interest by making sure restaurants are making, serving & storing food safely. From a business owner perspective, I want to keep them happy. They say, "wa wa wa wa waa (jump)." I say, "how high?"
Some of the 'jump' directives are real head-scratchers, though. They would like all impulse-buy pastries (those that customers can pick up) to have labels showing their ingredients. I presume this is to prevent allergic/[food] intolerance reactions*. Except that foods kept behind glass (or plastic) in a deli case do not have to be labeled. And foods that are in baskets or bins that customers can grab with tongs do not have to be labeled. But because the pastries we sell are not exposed to the open air, but can be grabbed by customers, they need a label.
*imo, if someone has an allergy or intolerance acute enough that avoiding it is imperative, it behooves them to make sure the problem ingredient isn't present by asking--I know I would.
Some of the 'jump' directives are real head-scratchers, though. They would like all impulse-buy pastries (those that customers can pick up) to have labels showing their ingredients. I presume this is to prevent allergic/[food] intolerance reactions*. Except that foods kept behind glass (or plastic) in a deli case do not have to be labeled. And foods that are in baskets or bins that customers can grab with tongs do not have to be labeled. But because the pastries we sell are not exposed to the open air, but can be grabbed by customers, they need a label.
*imo, if someone has an allergy or intolerance acute enough that avoiding it is imperative, it behooves them to make sure the problem ingredient isn't present by asking--I know I would.