Inspections would allow poultry sales at Portsmouth farmers’ markets
By CHARLES McMAHON
Monday, February 16, 2009
PORTSMOUTH — Poultry producers hoping to sell their products at the city’s farmers’ market could soon** get the chance once again thanks to a proposed law.
House Bill 42 was created in hopes of letting the state veterinarian employ a meat inspection services administrator that would implement a statewide meat inspection program.
City Health Inspector Kristin Shaw testified before the House Environment and Agriculture Committee on the bill late last month, along with nine other people who she said were all in favor of the bill.
Shaw said the city supports the bill and has been working with various groups at the state level to advance it.
** The full text of HB 42 is available online, and we should all note that this law would bring state meat inspection for poultry online sometime in the latter half of 2010. Not that we shouldn’t support this bill, just a reality check that there will still be no poultry this summer in Portsmouth.
See Who’s My Leg? for contact info for your state senators and representatives.
You can track the progress of the bill (to better time your calls and emails to your elected officials) through the nifty NH General Court website’s tracker – just type hb42 into the “bill number” box on the left side.
Why do we need this bill? Who got sick from uninspected poultry before it was banned in Portsmouth, and while it was still allowed in Dover? Maybe the Portsmouth Health Officer could just take a reality check and allow it without new legislation.
No one got sick from the poultry sold in Portsmouth. I’m nervous about the bill because it still isn’t clear to me that local growers will be able to sell poultry – too many questions left about processing. This bill will create yet another appointed position in our food system – we may luck out with someone great (though even the greatest person only has so many hours in the day to be driving all over the state), or we may not luck out. Appointed positions in our food system seem fairly problematic as overall policy – things left to the interpretations and opinions of one individual, rather than letting the public determine our food policy. I don’t want to leave our access to local food to luck.