I've learned quite a bit about our government through the process of obtaining USDA-inspected status for our meat processing facility. Did you know that labels for food products inspected by the USDA must be approved by the USDA before they can be used on the products? I learned that about a year ago.
A few months ago we received approval for our first round of labels for fresh pork cuts. This was a three month process. Along with the label application, I was required to send a protocol explaining how we can make the claims of Berkshire pork, vegetarian diet, and no antibiotics for our stock. This ended up being about 12 pages long. No problem. I was allowed to bundle seven or eight labels into one application, attach the protocol, and be done with it (after making two copies).
This second round, a week ago, I was applying for label approval for processed products, including our ham, bacon, and various types of sausage. All in all it was nine products. After a phone conversation with the very nice and even humorous USDA guy in Washington, D.C., I learned that they do not keep our documentation on file, so the protocol I sent before had to be sent again. OK. I can do that. What floored me was that this time around it had to be attached to each application individually ... in triplicate!
Long story short, I ended up sending about a ream of paper - I am not joking - for nine label applications! All I can say is that no federal funds will be used to copy and file my applications. All they have to do is circulate and (hopefully) approve.
