Barry County community 1, health board 0

This month, the Barry County Health Department will put the final touches on its revised temporary food permit requirement policy, which will make all non-profit organizations exempt from the permit requirement.

Over the last three months I have witnessed several animated discussions about the temporary food permit, which initially appeared to require all groups to purchase food permits for temporary events and activities. (I covered these discussions in articles that appeared in the May 21 and June 24 editions of the Cassville Democrat.)

As a reporter, who strives to remain objective, I found the discussions on the temporary food permit to be quite interesting.

On the one hand, as someone who witnesses a variety of community events that are designed to raise funds for charitable and non-profit organizations, I understood the concerns voiced by members of those organizations. A temporary food permit that required members to pay a fee would cut into fundraising monies.

On the other hand, I know that the Barry County Health Department attempts to take its purpose of protecting the public's health very seriously. I can understand the health department's concerns about the food born illnesses that could be acquired at unregulated events. I have suffered from a food illness and it is not something to be taken lightly.

Watching this issue unfold, I was pleased to see Barry County residents step up to voice their opinions on the topic, but I now find myself wondering if the Barry County Health Department allowed those individuals to push them back too far. The newly revised temporary food permit requirement will not only exclude non-profit organizations from paying a food permit fee but it also makes food safety training optional for those organizations.

Although I don't agree with charging non-profit organizations for food permits, I did think it was a good idea to require organizations to complete basic food safety training. No, I have no documented evidence of any Barry County residents who have become ill due to consuming food at a community event, but a refresher course in safe food preparation practices couldn't hurt anyone either.

I commend the health department for listening to and addressing the concerns of area residents, but I also wish the department's board would have forced the community to meet it halfway.