[Ansteorra] food safety was Re: Underage Participation In The SCA

[Susan O'Neal]

I agree with you in most all points, but just figure it is one of the
things that should be discussed when liability questions are being
discussed.  I personally think of participation being like if I would
be at any community gathering; but know if One suite is hitting us
this hard for not following what have become standards, we should look
at these things.  There is no one solution.

Susan

On 2/7/12, Ld.blackmoon <ld.blackmoon at cox.net> wrote:
> greetings
>
>>> I would say that this serves as the perfect opportunity to evaluate
> what we do to ensure the safety of all participating. <<
>
> this is something I have been wondering about?
> I've seen lots of talk about how do we" protect the children" ,how do we "
> protect the sca" ,how do we " protect the kingdom / local group,etc. each
> from both a defined as well as undefined future problems.
> do we as a society stop there ?? or do we also wish to protect all members /
> non members ?? and for all of the problems , how far do we go to " protect "
> people , places, things , corporations ???
> do we require that we all run around in big plastic bubbles?and never say or
> do anything that " may " offend anyone ?? do we ban all alcohol ??
> do we wear id bands if were old enough to drink ? and burn anyone at the
> stake we catch drinking without a band ?
> do we ban all vehicles on site? make all people load their dogs and horse
> drawn wagons to set up/ tear down camps ?
> do we ban feasts ? chili night ? etc? , or do we have all food at events
> catered only by certified restraunts, which carry over 1 million in food
> poisoning insurance ??
> do we make everyone wear garb that covers from head to toe, as well as gives
> spf 50 protection ??
>
> the truth remains that each and every one of the people attending any sca
> ( or other group for that matter ) event is ( or at least should be )
> responsible for their own actions / words / deeds .
> ( yes, even when they get themselves drunk,or allow others to get them drunk
> , and do/ say something or several something's stupid )
> as well as the actions / words / deeds of their children.
>
> but as in many things sca, the ever present disease ( mundanity )continues
> to creap into our events, actions and policies.
> ( it's ok to go to the casino on the food money, god will provide ) ( I'm
> not really suing the sca, it's just the insurance company that will pay )
> ( I wasn't that drunk )( it's only illegal if you get caught )
> ( nobody really minds the flash, and we all enjoy the pictures
> afterward )( no one will notice I'm texting in feast / court , etc. )
>
>>>Have we taken any precautions to help ensure safety with feasts?  Do we
>>>require the
> feast steward having a food handler's license at the bare minimum?  As
> has been said, I don't think that the kitchens are required to pass
> any inspections; so we need to be sure that the person heading up
> cooking has a range of knowledge to keep people safe.<<
>
> as far as I know the answer to these questions #1, not officially, and #2,
> no.
> the kitchens at most sites are required to go through exactly the same
> inspections your home kitchen goes through ( in other words none ) ( since
> they are not normally used to prepare food for sale )
> as I stated above , this is one of those  multi sided issues, and would
> require lots of thought before any changes were made.
> think about it .how few people volunteer to cook feasts as it is ??
> if we make the feastocrat have a certification then we would be liable if
> everyone in the kitchen even for a few min. didn't have that same
> certification .
> many places use bake sales , or lunches prepared by the populace as fund
> raisers ,should we ban that everywhere ? how would the groups then replace
> the lost income ?
> in some places the populace is encouraged to bring dishes to fighter
> practices ,to share with the populace , in order to better know your fellow
> participant.
> should that be banned as well, and only store bought sealed in plastic food
> be allowed ??
> if that is so , then why bother even attempting a period recipe , when
> processed meat byproduct would be much more welcome , as well as
> recognizable to the populace as " good food " .
>
> truth is there is no easy answer, but I really hope people will think before
> jumping on any bandwagons, no matter how catchy the tune being played is ...
>
> Be Safe , Be Happy, Have Fun .
> Arthur
>