SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Locally grown organic foods are increasing in popularity at markets across the state, and now state regulators are stepping in with new requirements that proponents hope will add an element of safety to some of those products.
Others, however, worry the new requirements go too far and could stifle a burgeoning industry that encourages locally grown foods.
On this, both sides agree: The increase in farmers' markets and their emphasis on local products is a good thing, both for economic and environmental reasons.
"I think everybody is operating with good intentions in this," said state Rep. Bernie Hunhoff, the editor and publisher of South Dakota Magazine.
The new rules were put in place by the state Department of Health and the South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service following legislation that went into effect July 1. They apply to people who sell some baked goods or canned food products that aren't produced in commercial kitchens. State officials are requiring people who can certain foods to have their products and canning methods tested to ensure the thermal process is adequate.
If approved, the producer will receive a letter of verification.
"There are a lot of people who really haven't learned properly," said Joan Hegerfeld-Baker, an Extension food safety specialist in Brookings. "There are shortcuts people are starting to use that are not safe. You want people to use safe, tested methods."
Officials have been holding meetings across the state to explain the rules and verification process. The rules also require labeling — ingredients, date of processing and producer-contact information. It also must have a disclaimer noting the product was not produced in a commercial kitchen, and that it was made in a home kitchen that also produces foods with common allergens. Communities and farmers markets might have other rules about what, if any, home-processed foods can be sold.
"This is the first year. It's going to take time to evolve," Hegerfeld-Baker said.
Legislators passed a law earlier this year allowing the rules. But Hunhoff said he thinks the new requirements go further than what lawmakers expected.
"It seems to me there are a lot more hoops to jump through than I imagined and other legislators imagined when we passed the bill," said Hunhoff, a Democrat from Yankton.
Hunhoff worries that too many regulations will discourage entrepreneurship, and he thinks consumers are capable of making smart choices.
"To my knowledge, there has not been a problem in South Dakota," he said.
"I think it's an example of how government creeps and grows," he added.
Ruth Neuberger operates the South Dakota Goosemobile, farms near Canistota. She has been doing the farmers market circuit since 1978. She sells a host of products, including grass-fed beef, free-range poultry, canned goods and baked foods. To her, the new requirements are a good thing.
"People have so many allergies," she said. "I like to know what's in my product whenever possible."
Neuberger recently attended a meeting on the requirements. Others who attended, she said, were discouraged by the new rules because they can't afford to have each of their products tested. The fees charged by the state vary.
"They were discouraged because they would never make the money back," she said. "I think it's a good way to go. They need training, which they probably never had from a professional."
Shawna Boehmer of Brandon bought a jar of Neuberger's raspberry jam at the farmers market on a recent Saturday in Sioux Falls. To her, the new requirements aren't necessary because consumers are buying from local producers.
"It's just like getting it from my grandmother," Boehmer said.
