A noted New York City chef details how onerous USDA regulations have killed off the centuries-old tradition of dry- and salt-cured meats. It’s not even the first time a chef as complained about how food safety regs stifle kitchen innovation in the Times op-ed pages.

One of the libertarians-are-whack-jobs arguments I often hear concerns how our society would fall to shambles if the government stopped regulating food safety. I doubt it. Private regulation would suffice just fine — and would probably do a better job. Competing safety inspections services would provide their respective seals of approval to restaurants that maintained the required standards. Consumers would then dine at the restaurants approved by the certifying company they most trust. Or, if they’re feeling adventurous, perhaps at a restaurant that hasn’t been certified, but with the understanding that they’re dining at their own risk — similar to the way black market restaurants in New York City work right now.

At the same time, a successful private inspection service would likely allow for innovation, tradition, and diversity in culinary preparation. If not, the best restaurants would patronize a competitor. Get too lax, though, and you’ll lose credibility, and the trust of diners.

More importantly, a private company wouldn’t be burdened by administrative law, obstinate bureaucrats, and the general inflexible nature of a government agency.

Hat tip: Jacob Grier.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 23rd, 2006 at 2:50 pm by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.