EDITORIAL - Cake stall crackdown smacks of overkill

Laura Franklin, Editor
It is comforting to know that, despite the dangers of modern living, the perils at large on our highways, the ever-present risk of home invasion, the threats posed by rampaging addicts in P-fuelled rages, we are at least safe from one looming menace:
We won't be killed by a pikelet from a cake stall.
At least, not if the Far North food police have anything to do with it.
In closing down food stalls at Kaitaia's weekly market recently, Northland Health and the Far North District Council have opened themselves up to criticism from those who find the rules and regulations of our cotton-wool culture to be stifling and ridiculous.
The crackdown a little over a week ago on a seemingly harmless collection of biscuits, loaves, pickles, cakes and lemonade was absolutely within new guidelines for food safety: They had not been prepared in a kitchen that was separate to that used for family meals.
But was it really necessary? It seems exceptionally zealous, and has ludicrously branded a group of well-meaning local cooks (who, one might imagine, take great pride in the cleanliness of their kitchen and the lightness of their sponges) into some kind of "public enemy number one".
Now those keen bakers - some of whom had thus been doing their bit for the community for decades - have turned into protesters, with indignant placards on show at this weekend's market. And others have quit their stalls for good.
Their question is: Rather than being ordered to cook their items for sale in a new and separate kitchen, why could their home kitchens not simply be inspected for hygiene standards? It seems a reasonable suggestion, and one which the Far North District Council will hopefully be considering, having stated that it will now revisit the rules for the Kaitaia market.
When the Food Safety Authority's domestic food review began more than two years ago, emphatic denials were made against the suggestion that it aimed to regulate good old-fashioned Kiwi sausage sizzles and cake stalls out of existence.
However, now that the rules have been in place since July, it seems that in practice and when taken to extremes, that will be exactly the result.
And who will benefit? Do we really believe that New Zealand's high rate of food poisoning can be traced back to Plunket bake sales and kindy galas?
Surely there is far more danger of being made ill by one of the many shoddy fast-food outlets or badly managed buffet restaurants that continue to exist, despite acts and bylaws.
If we're getting tough on risky food practices then the humble fundraising stall with its date loaves and shortbread seems a strange place to start.