As someone who believes we should all know exactly what is in our food, where it comes from, and how it was made, I'm surprised by my reaction to this legislation before the U.S. Senate. Senators Patrick Leahy (Vermont, of course) and Susan Collins (Maine) want stiffer penalties for those fakers who pass off imitation maple syrup as the real deal. Currently the crime is a misdemeanor, and they're looking to make it a felony.
Look, I think anyone passing off fake stuff as real should be punished, and I certainly don't want to give my family crappy fake maple syrup that's loaded with corn syrup. However, can we get some perspective here, people?
We live in a country that doesn't require food manufacturers to not poison us with antibiotics in meat. We don't know if our food has been genetically modified or not because no labeling is in place. As someone who has celiac disease, I can't even rely on accurate labels to tell me if gluten is in my food or not. I'm sorry, but fake maple syrup is the least of our problems.
I'm not normally one to eschew legislation that could be helpful to consumers of food (you know, all of us), but I just wish these Senators had applied this much thought and effort in cleaning up our entire food supply, instead of the one that goes on pancakes. People are dying from listeria and getting sickened with salmonella CONSTANTLY. Does fake maple syrup kill people? No? Then let's re-focus, shall we?
Shut down unhealthy factory farms until they're clean enough to not kill us all, let us know what foods have been genetically modified and could be harmful to our bodies, and then let's discuss the finer points of waffle accessories.
I love maple syrup, I do. But until we can get serious about keeping our food supply safe, this effort to increase punishment of syrup fakers is a joke.
Do you think this MAPLE Act is a great idea?
Image via Kai Hendry/Flickr
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Comments 17
there is a lot of people out there w/ corn allergies. If a fake maple syrup was made w/ it and a person had severe allergies then YES this would be a very BIG deal to them.
Hey, Vermont takes its maple syrup very seriously. They just sued McDonalds for using fake maple syrup in their oatmeal and advertising it as real. And given that there are quite a few people in the state that make a living off maple sugaring, it makes sense that there should be laws protecting them. And believe me, as someone who loves real maple syrup, you CAN tell the difference quite easily and it's quite a terrible thing to realize you've been had. Especially when fake maple syrup costs $2.50 a bottle and real maple syrup costs $20 a quart.
when I pay the price for Maple syrup that is what I want.
So, to carry the author's analogy further.. As a chef, I have to abide by what's called Truth in Menu laws. Basically, if i offer a menu item, it HAS to be true to the description.
Would you be okay with paying $30 for a plate of grouper when I've actually swapped it out with swai that I paid $2.50/pound for? I mean, it's not gonna KILL you, right? It's not gonna give you listeria or salmonella, so no problem!
It's about customer expectation, and the value of those expectations. If I tell you I'm serving you grouper - or if a customer purchases a bottle that reads "PURE MAPLE SYRUP" - both of you have every right to expect that you're paying a premium for exactly what's been advertised.
Lying about products is not harmless, particularly food products - one of the worst things any purveyor can do is lie to a consumer about what s/he has decided to put in his/her own body. There is no excuse - it's completely unethical.
Also: Think about what this can do to Vermont's (and other states') maple industries. If I taste "Vermont maple syrup" and think "man, the quailty has really plummeted - why should I buy it anymore?" - passing off an inferior product as "pure maple syrup" can eventually cripple the entire state's maple product industry. That's a big deal.
Counterfeit anything should be a felony. I think the author misses the point, and sorry about your gluten issue, but its not that labels aren't accurate. Cross contamination in factories is the culprit, and labels still caution you of the chance.
I mean, I could counterfit cough syrup with sugar water. No, it won't kill you, but when you get pnumonia because the gunk in your lungs never cleared I'm sure you'd have a different tune.
When pure maple syrup sells for $25-$30 for the same sized bottle as $4 Aunt Jemima, yeah, that's theft and criminal. Especially if millions get duped for $20+ dollars
Wow.