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Apparently, deception and imposter produce is a rampant problem amongst the state's markets.
We've always thought of farmers markets as happy places to visit on a sunny Saturday, but it seems these local havens may actually have a dark side — some vendors are trying to pass off purchased wholesale produce as locally grown. According to NPR, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a new law last week that will allot $1 million to provide state-coordinated inspectors to ensure that farmers market vendors are truly growing their fruits and vegetables themselves.
The inspectors will be charged with the task of ensuring that vendors have not stocked up from wholesale markets and that they are, in fact, cultivating their own produce. Not an easy task, says Eli Cook, who owns Spring Valley Farm and Orchard in Slanesville, West Virginia. "They almost have to be a doggone private investigator to catch some of this stuff," he says.
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The problem is not a new one — an NBC affiliate in LA caught a team of phony farmers loading up on goods from a local wholesaler and re-selling the produce as homegrown at an area market in 2010, and, in 2013, as many as 19 vendors were hit with fines for "misrepresenting their products."
And representation is the key. Citing Gus Schumacher, a former USDA official, The Salt notes that homegrown veggies and the wholesale variety "can co-exist," but that it's important to have each product clearly (and honestly) labeled.
The new law will also increase fines to those caught violating the policy, which will (in theory, at least) increase the incentive to comply.
[h/t The Salt
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