And there's the nanny state aspects. Hundreds of millions of people in China eat unregulated street food and they aren't amidst an epidemic of food safety deaths. I think Americans overreact and over regulate things that the market should naturally handle. If you don't like a restaurant because of cleanliness issues, don't eat there. This is a problem the free market can solve (and does well, ironically in China of all places.)
I am rather obsessed with food safety in my own kitchen but I don't see that obsession something that ought to make the cooked food business as highly regulated as it is. As with the sous vide example or the ridiculous import ban on certain French cheeses, the government overreach is stifling. For example, a chipped tile in a NYC kitchen could result in a health code violation. Does a chipped tile really pose that much of a food safety risk? Regulation seems to be a mild form of extortion, especially in NYC. You get a C rating but want an A? If you know the right people in NY, that 'problem' can be easily fixed -- irregardless of the actual violations in question! The shakedown aspects of local health departments is astounding.
I am rather obsessed with food safety in my own kitchen but I don't see that obsession something that ought to make the cooked food business as highly regulated as it is. As with the sous vide example or the ridiculous import ban on certain French cheeses, the government overreach is stifling. For example, a chipped tile in a NYC kitchen could result in a health code violation. Does a chipped tile really pose that much of a food safety risk? Regulation seems to be a mild form of extortion, especially in NYC. You get a C rating but want an A? If you know the right people in NY, that 'problem' can be easily fixed -- irregardless of the actual violations in question! The shakedown aspects of local health departments is astounding.