Earl Rants About Health Inspections which have NOTHING to do with HEALTH

I normally don't do this, but recently I watched an abuse and misuse of government power that has me STEAMED! Let me preface this by saying that while I feel there is generally too much government bureaucracy, one of the more valuable services government offers is the inspection of food and conditions for reasons of safety. It is an imperfect system at best but when health and safety are ignored by the inspector, it is simply atrocious!

Let me preface my comments by saying that my wife and I both contracted hepatitis in the late 70's from a restaurant and later my whole family got food poisoning from another. And while the health department did not prevent our exposure, they did follow up.

Now, the reason I rant...A neighborhood street fair near me takes place annually. It is a gathering of neighbors, booths for politicians and charities, and of course food and merchandise vendors of all types. Of course, there is a fee for booth space, and because it is in a major metropolitan area, government health inspectors. I was standing outside a friends food booth when the inspector arrived. He checked the temp on the ovens (smokers), and the refrigerated products. His booth passed with flying colors. My friend realized that his permits were in his food truck, and soon he would have them in his hands. But the inspector said that would not do. He needed one just for this event booth! And how could he get one, since he already had permits from the same municipality. The inspector would not allow him to pay for and get a permit for his booth!  Many hundreds of dollars of food could not be sold and because of it's nature, would most likely be wasted. People were in line at 9 a.m. to buy some. 

One neighbor asked the inspector if he could give it away to a charity operating a booth there, to benefit children. The inspector said no!

This was not a person simply doing their job and making sure certain health and safety concerns were addressed, nor was this a vendor who failed to be licensed and approved by the municipality, because he was. Was a mistake made by the vendor? Yes and he freely admitted so. What is missing in this whole debacle was a way to make it right, and a public employee who did nothing to serve the public. Everyone lost, even the employee, because he lost the confidence and respect of EVERYONE who knew the situation. He should be relegated to a desk job and never allowed to represent the municipality or it's citizens in a public forum!