Why would Health Regulators pick on Amish people?

the Amish in the states must be different than the ones we have in Canada i find that most shun electricity into the house for sure but have it in the barns for the milk from cows some even have fridges in there too so who says that they are not using them for the pies they cook some even run pretty good business out in the barns too just as long as they have no electricity coming into the house where they live... anyway was going to say if they sell me a cool glass of well water for $5.00 i would buy it on a warm day and if they said could have a free pie to go with it i would even be inclined to take them up on it for sure. would never turn down a free pie...

I think they should leave them alone. They have more pressing issues to deal with. We have a Amish Market near us and one of best trips you could ever make is to Amish country in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Amish people know what they are doing. They don't take shortcuts and they would never do anything to hurt anyone. They put out excellent products. A better use of the inpectors time would be to check on some of the filthy produce warehouses that were featured on television. Lloyd

Ok, firstly I just want to say that I have nothing against the Amish, I live in Northern Wi and there are tons and tons of them and Menonites *sp* that live in the areas around here. However, as for health regulations, I honestly can see why. I have been to MANY Amish peoples homes and to be honest, the sanitary conditions are questionable at best. Yes, they are very nice people but cleanliness is not amongst their great qualities. Ok, so if they are so against the "Engish" lifestyle...why do they hire us to drive them everywhere? Why are they buying lottery tickets? Amongst many MANY other things, the Amish aren't as "back woods" as many people think. Yes, it really depends on their Ordnun, but for the most part, they use the "English's" lifestyle also. I have seen them at Wal-mart, Aldies...buying the Little Debbie snack cakes, batteries, etc. I am sorry but if they can use our stuff, they should be adhering to basic health regulations. If they are selling just amongst themselves, fine do what you want. But when you are involving the public, there are some safety issues they should be dealing with just like everyone else.

On the one hand we have governments protecting consumers though regulation, food safety and such: The industrial production system has marginalised the independent baker, the local butcher and consolidation has killed a lot of "people to people" business. During our travels to the US and Canada we have made it a point to visit Amish communities whenever feasible. We do not go to gape, but there seems to be some harmony in their community that is quite comforting. I feel the same about their food and wood work. The Amish production to consumer chain is relatively short. They do not use electricity - so everything that they sell is fresh, or stuff that will keep. In terms of volumes, I would say that they produce very small quantities - enough to be called a "cottage industry". On the other hand government departments need to justify their existence implement what is in the rulebook. I think for this instance, if the rules were amended -not just for the Amish but all small scale producers to: 1. Label the food as to - specific time and date of production. 2. Require "expiry time" to be displayed on the label. I would trust the Amish based on my exposure to them, however little. But I would also seek to use this opportunity to make a call for small "community" producers of food to be exempt from unreasonable regulation. Let the small baker thrive, he cannot do as much damage as ConAgra with the peanut butter or the other company with the school lunches.

When it comes to food regulation... no one is immune. The selling of food is a very serious business. You can die from food poisonning. If you are selling a product which need to be kept refrigerated... it does not matter if you believe in electricity or not. You have to abide by the rules. If you were to find yourself in hospital after eating a custard pie... you would be the first one to sue the Amish community for poisonning you. It has nothing to do with English laws. It has to do with health regulations. And health regulations are far more severe than any english law... because our life depends on it.

I am surprised. I didn't think the Amish participated with our government at all. That being said, they would all be private enterprises being run on private land, and probably relatively low volume operations - so why is the government sticking their face into this? This is really surprising. And quite bothersome, to me...

Sometimes beurocracy goes too far, does this mean that none of us can be trusted to cook our own food. We do not know what happens to food on it's journey to the shop but be buy and eat it. This means tings like the cake stall at school fates may be endanering us too. If you buy something that is home made then you accept and enjy it, expecting taht the person you got it from looked after it properly. These people have eaten their home cooked foods for many years as we all eat thing we make from recipes. By forcing them to comply to modern rules a lot of the charm of their foods would be lost not to mention the impact on their culture. Why can't people with a bit of power live and let live, it makes me so cross!

I agree with the person who said "let the buyer beware". If you buy it then you probably know the risk. They live differently then most of us do now days, but not so differently than most did less than a century ago.

I think so. If they're just selling these items within their community I think that's one thing. If they commit crimes they've still fall under our laws. I know this isn't a crime but the point is they do live in this country and should obey our laws - if they want to sell products to the general population. I understand that some don't want to use modern technology. It's becoming harder and harder to do his day in age. I don't have a viable solution to preserve their way of life and still adhere to the laws.

Wow, that is a tough one. I am studying business/business law, and economics...so that is like something we would be considered to deal with. There are so many factors involved, that can be brought up. I think that there are a lot of other businesses that might feel threatened by the competition, or just have a grudge, against the health regulators, so they get others "in trouble" with them. However, competition does not seem to be a major problem. I believe that even if only Amish community members ate the food, they would still have health concerns, just for the people of the town. There will probably be an interference of state laws, into the federal laws, so perhaps, there is a clause that states that they are separate from each other.

well, i dont know about the health concerns, i suppose its possible to get sick from baked goods, but very unlikely. i used to live in indiana and we purchased stuff from the amish bakery all the time we were also friends with them and they are very clean people, (kitchens, cooking methods, washing hands before cooking etc....) we loved their homemade goodies, ate them for years, and noone ever got sick nor have i ever heard of anyone getting sick from their food. i think that it is just another example of too much government and everything having to be politically correct.

well, we seem to be a country of regulations, and then we have regulations to regulate the regulations. I have never heard of anyone getting sick from eating the Amish food and certainly the Amish have survived all of these years without dying out, so they must be doing something right. I think that they should be able to put up signs, telling people how they made the food, when it was made and informing them of no refirgeration and unless they can show people getting sick from their food, then they should be able to continue as they are. Let's face it, with the the regulations we have people still get sick...let's think back to Taco bell.

Such rules may be implemented based on the idea of protecting consumers' health. When food is not properly handled it can cause diseases. So maybe the authorities is being too careful. Amish families have been selling such food long before the rules are setup, right? So why now there exist so many restrictions? I don't know. I admire the Amish way of living. Only people with their beliefs are completely environmental friendly.

Unfortunatly being a Restaurant health inspector myself I have to say its a health issue not anyone picking on anyone elae. They have also in many states banned moms from bringing in fresh food baked or made at home because of this reason. People who cannot fllow simple safty rules regaurding food safty cannot sell food to the public! This can get thousands of people sick, Pies are made with eggs and while the Amish used fresh eggs, they are not refriderated. If these eggs have sallmonella they could cause an outbreak of sallmonella in the community, most people do not know how dangerous this is, Sallmonella can make young children and the elderly so sick they would have to be hospitalized and they could die! Usually anyone who sells food items or handles food items given to the public have to take a health food handlers course, If these conditions of food handling are not met, Food can be contaminated! Temp, cross contamination, and storage are very inportant! Amish people do not believe in these procedures.

I agree with the state-enforced health standards. If the Amish people only sold to other Amish folks it would be one thing, but often these products are bought by non-Amish and the government is just trying to protect people from needless bouts of E-coli and Salmonella. If you have ever been stricken with full-on food poisoning you would understand.

Although I have occasionally heard of the Amish, we don't have any communities in Australia, that I know anyway. I guess if their home made products have never caused food poisoning, perhaps they should not be subject to the laws. It would be taking away part of their living. It's a hard one really, because many people would say, rightly so, that everyone should be subject to the same law. We do have some laws here, that vary for Traditional people, to be allowed to hunt for native foods, etc.

Hmm. If no one has become sick from these products, I don't see the problem. I know you can keep pies out for a week at a time before you have to worry about them going bad as long as it is not to terribly hot. I think that the lady or who ever it was, was just trying to make a thing of it just for the principal of it. It must irratate her to no end that they do not follow certain rules and regs that our culture in the USA have established. She is missing the boat I think, because the Amish are a very peac filled culture and very religious.

The Amish live in America and have to follow the laws of the state they live in. Food saftey is an important thing. I do realize that most Amish homes are very clean and that the baker is experienced in food service but the laws must be maintained if they shun electricity then they need dry ice.

I think that it is important that they participate in English laws. This is health we are talking about. I mean, I too would be concerned if something had pumpkin rolls for sale and they had cream cheese in them, and I knew that they do not believe in modern electricity. People could get sick from eating stuff like that if it was not properly made. I don't think there is anything wrong with the government stepping in in situations like that.

I live in Michigan in a largely Amish community and have my entire life. It would be a shame if the Amish were forced out of business by government red tape. These people have done nothing to hurt anyone. There baked goods are delicious, and I have never heard of anyone getting sick from them yet. The products they prepare have been made the same way for years and are no less safe now then they were then. Government regulations have gone way too far. What comes next? Will they be banning bake sales? Will they be banning potluck events? At least you know where the Amish foods are made, and I don't think you will find any better quality anywhere else than you will from an Amish bakery.