The rules are the rules

There you go.

And I read the health department reports in my paper and I refuse to eat at any restaurant in my county. Even the A- grades gross me out.

 

Yeah, that's pretty much what he ended up finding out. Which is why this thread made me think of it.
(He also had cats, which totally disgusted the health inspector)

 

Well, cats should disgust any rational human being.

 

Just the thought of eating a cupcake prepared by an 11-year-old who is not a family member disgusts me.

 

Oh, I'm not arguing with you. It's ridiculous.

But, the regulations put on actual food businesses are ridiculous too. See the Strawberry Ice Cream Thread: http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/85441/

A local shared kitchen that nurtured many small businesses was recently hounded out of business here in Chicago too: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-16/features/chi-logan-square-kitchen-closing-20120516_1_flora-confections-licensing-city-hall

 

So who do we appoint to figure out for whom the rules apply, and for whom the rules don't apply?

 

The rules apply.

Common sense dictates where you spend your time on enforcement.

We've seen this on the national level. You'd think a local department could figure it out.

 

A $200-a-month cupcake business goes beyond your typical bake sale or lemonade stand.

 

Yep. To the point that it actually affects competitors who have to eat into their profit margins to meet code.

If it's $200 a month now, I assume the intent was to grow the business. At what number does it become something the health department is allowed to worry about?

 

A business a business. What if it were $1,000 a month? $10,000?
The dollar value is irrelevant. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Maybe the US should just abolish FDA and Health Departments and make everyone set up their own lab to determine the risk of all the food they eat.

 

I say let her go, then watch her family be financially ruined when someone gets sick from one of her cupcakes and sues.