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GOURMET NEWS OCTOBER 2015 www.gourmetnews.com FROM THE PUBLISHER 4 Cheesemakers are telling us that the greatest risk to their industry these days might be overzealous or underinformed regulation by the federal Food and Drug Administration, which is charged with im- plementing actions to prevent foodborne illness by the Food Modernization and Safety Act. No one wants to take food safety lightly, or even to appear to do so. The risks of foodborne illness from con- taminated cheese are real and potentially deadly, and we count on the FDA to ensure that we aren't poisoned by our food. On the other hand, though, if the FDA tries too hard to reduce all possible risks to zero, we can kiss goodbye our chances for the local food system that the US De- partment of Agriculture has spent mil- lions trying to encourage and that Amer- ican consumers are eager to embrace. Our smaller food producers just won't be able to stand up under the regulatory burden that's already threatening to force them to their knees. We can also kiss goodbye a great deal of our access to artisanal foods that we care about. Raw milk cheeses could be the first to go, if insurance companies decide that they won't provide liability insurance for a cheesemaker who makes a raw milk cheese that the FDA has said is riskier than a pasteurized version. Without that insurance certificate, many retailers won't buy that cheesemaker's products, so the cheesemaker won't be able to afford to make it. That's not even necessarily regulatory overreach – that's just free enterprise in action. As a society, we just have to decide if we really want the FDA to condemn all of us to the consequences of a zero-tol- erance policy that limits all of our choices to those that are absolutely safe for even the weakest members of our population. We have to figure out how to balance our competing desires for an ab- solutely no-risk food supply and a robust local food system. And maybe we have to go to the market and get our hands on some more great cheeses before they dis- appear. Check out the fall edition of The Cheese Guide, coming in next month's issue of Gourmet News, for some not-to- be-missed suggestions. GN — Lee M. Oser Publisher WWW.GOURMETNEWS.COM PUBLISHER Lee M. Oser ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Kim Forrester Jules Denton jules_d@oser.com Paul Harris paul_h@oser.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lorrie Baumann lorrie_b@oser.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Richard Thompson ASSISTANT EDITOR Micah Cheek CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Amber Gallegos GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Yasmine Brown Andre Gressieux ACCOUNT MANAGER James Gennette Carlos Velasquez CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER Caitlyn Roach caitlyn_r@oser.com CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Tara Neal tara_n@oser.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Jamie Green jamie_g@oser.com PUBLISHING OFFICE 1877 N. Kolb Road P.O. Box 1056 Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300 Fax 520.721.6300 SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Gourmet News P.O. Box 30520 Tucson, AZ 85751 520.721.1300 G OURMET N EWS ® OSER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP PRESIDENT Lee M. Oser MEMBER OF: Periodicals postage paid at Tucson, AZ, and additional mailing office. Gourmet News (ISSN 1052-4630) is published monthly by Oser Communications Group, 1877 North Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715; 520.721.1300. Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material or prices quoted in newspaper. Contributors are responsible for proper release of pro- prietary classified information. ©2015 by Oser Communications Group. All rights re- served. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without writ- ten permission of the publisher, is expressly prohibited. Back issues, when available, cost $7 each within the past 12 months, $12 each prior to the past 12 months. Back orders must be paid in advance either by check or charged to American Express, Visa, or Master Card. Gourmet News is distributed without charge in North America to qualified professionals in the retail and dis- tribution channels of the specialty foods and hardgoods trade; paid subscriptions cost $65 annually to the U.S. and Canada. All foreign subscriptions cost $150 annu- ally to cover air delivery. All payments must be made in U.S. funds and drawn on a U.S. bank. For subscriber services, including subscription information, call 520.721.1300. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Gourmet News, 1877 North Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715. FROM THE PUBLISHER

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