Portland lemonade stand runs into health inspectors, needs $120 license to operate

Portland lemonade stand runs into health inspectors, needs $120 license to operate

www.oregonlive.com

So when Multnomah County shut down an enterprise last week for operating without a license, you might just sigh and say, there they go again.

Except this entrepreneur was a 7-year-old named Julie Murphy. Her business was a lemonade stand at the Last Thursday monthly art fair in Northeast Portland. The government regulation she violated? Failing to get a $120 temporary restaurant license.

Turns out that kids' lemonade stands -- those constants of summertime -- are supposed to get a permit

(visit the link for the full news article)

I suspose I should feel better knowing that my government is taking my health so seriously that they are managing this massive risk to public health.

Our current governmental oversight bodies fail to properly inspect imported foods, notably vegetables from Mexico, have done skant analysis to evaluate the risk of genetically modified food, allow squalor to exist throughout the meat packing industry and allow drugs of dubious merit into the marketplace.

Those glaring gaps that have real public consequences and they feel it necessary to crack down on a kid's lemonaide stand. All this is of course under the guise of "public safety"

I am sick of the nonsense of "public safety" being used to infringe on my rights and freedoms and the rights and freedoms of my fellow citizens. We have all been to food stands at carnivals, etc that had "permits" that we took a look at and said "no way" and got a bite to eat some other place. We have all likely eaten at one of these places when it looked healthy and yet was not (we probably eat at places like that all the time), yet they are all "certified" by the government.

At some point it has to stop. I realize that the governments need revenue. At what point does the balance between acquiring that revenue and the restrictions of freedom conflict in such a manner that freedom wins? Seldom

Be interesting to see what happened if this little girl gave the lemonade away and asked for "donations". Perhaps she would not have been shut down at all.

I suspose the next business is being required to get a permit to have a cook-out when more than a certain number of folks are coming over to your place. There is no doubt that there are folks in local governments across the country who have at least contemplated such a measure.



[edit on 5-8-2010 by dolphinfan]

I was predicting this would happen.

Now I finally have evidence.



So the government has all the time in the world to police lemonade stands, meanwhile, a gazillion problems get ignored and we slip further into the crapper.

reply to post by dolphinfan


While it's tempting to cry nonsense in a case like this, we live in different times than years past.
Who sues this kid if they become "sick" from her lemonade?
The public, not the Government. Same if someone falls at her stand.
If the government ignores the law, then they are liable too, by allowing an unlicensed business. It also sounds like the event was held on public property.
Blame greedy lawsuit happy people, not the county.

[edit on 5-8-2010 by OldDragger]

[edit on 5-8-2010 by OldDragger]

Sheesh.

Don't those silly inspectors know you don't really drink the lemonade? You pay, take it with you, and then dump it

[edit on 8/5/2010 by ~Lucidity]

I just wonder how long it will be before we'll need a license to breath from the EPA and another license to take a crap from the health department? This is the kind of bureaucratic nonsense that we have to look forward too from cradle to grave. It won't be long before parents will need a hazardous waste permit to get rid of their kids disposable diapers!!!

Zindo

Well Julie Murphy is obviously an agent of China and is selling lead-tainted lemonade. Paying the government money makes your products and customers safe. You don't see any other companies selling tainted food or drink, do you?

I feel safe to drink my lemon and sugar water now that Julie Murphy's front for money laundering to terrorists has been shut down. Good riddance, commie.

This is so sad.

Good for the people to sand up against the health inspector.

How can anyone say no to that cute little girl!!

Originally posted by cosmo740
How can anyone say no to that cute little girl!!

Yes, if she were ugly and fat it would be easier to say no.

If this can happen to her, what do ugly fat kids have to look forward to? Failed lemonade stand ventures, among many others, that's for sure.

This is surely a tragedy.

This has been happening for a while. Where I'm from in canada me and some friends were selling bottled water during a this event on our own property and we were selling chocolate bars and stuff because I forget how we got them but we got them really cheap. So we decided to move just a bit off our property on to the park lawn where the event was it wasn't even 15 feet and a police officer comes up to us and tells us to pack up our stuff because it was Illegal to be selling anything without a permit, and we were taking business away from the paying permit holders. We were moved back onto our property and got two people who had over heard the officer telling us to move and the officer comes on to private property and tells us we can't sell it here either because it is within eyesight of the event, and the permit holders and if we didn't shut down immediately he would press charges on all of us.

Its all about the money... Government can't tax a kids lemonade stand, so they don't make money so bye bye lemonade stands...

She is a cutie pie...
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/97aace5c440d.jpg[/atsimg]

It should have been Grandfathered in, turn your head away from seeing little kids with lemonaid stands.

On the other hand if the buisness took off, that would change everything, but the childs parents should monitor that.

Also the girl is not 'selling' the lemonaide technically, it is a free give away.

[edit on 5-8-2010 by antar]

reply to post by OldDragger


I do blame the government. Were the government not wedded to the trial lawyers we might get some reasonable tort reform in the country whereby people were penalized for bringing frivilous lawsuits, losers of suites required to pay attorney fees of both parties and a system of laws that provided some recognition of the responsibility of people to make reasonable choices.

I also blame the government for creating and perpetuating the victim mentality within the society.

Funny as hell.

This is the exact plotline of this book: www.amazon.com...

Originally posted by antar
She is a cutie pie...
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/97aace5c440d.jpg[/atsimg]

It should have been Grandfathered in, turn your head away from seeing little kids with lemonaid stands.

On the other hand if the buisness took off, that would change everything, but the childs parents should monitor that.

Also the girl is not 'selling' the lemonaide technically, it is a free give away.

[edit on 5-8-2010 by antar]

She is a Menace I tell you! You can see it in her eyes, she plots to defraud the government and poison her patrons! It's a good thing the government stepped in and cracked down on such malicious criminal activity! Would they not there would have been a catastrophe. It's about time we cracked down on little kids' lemonade stands everywhere!!

It's a good thing they are fighting lemonade stand terrorism here at home! Score one for tyrrany... I mean justice!

This may seem petty, but in the State of Texas the same is true. If you are preparing anything for ingestion, you have to have the correct license and certification. I am a "Certified Food Manager" because of a department that i manage in my business. I also have to pay the annual fee, etc, for my kitchen certification and inspection.

It wouldn't seem silly if you contracted e-coli from lemonade served at her stand. yeah, small chance....but it is unfortunately what has to be done in a nation where people sue other people for stupid things.

To protect ourselves from lawsuits, we go too far and shut down a little girls lemonade stand.

When you go to a vendor or a restaurant you have an expectation of cleanliness, as overseen by the local government. A kid selling lemonade? Been going on for decades. There's no expectation of anything except the kids Mom makes sure there isn't too much sugar in the drink. This is completely ridiculous.

Originally posted by intrepid
When you go to a vendor or a restaurant you have an expectation of cleanliness, as overseen by the local government. A kid selling lemonade? Been going on for decades. There's no expectation of anything except the kids Mom makes sure there isn't too much sugar in the drink. This is completely ridiculous.

It seems ridiculous. But if you have ever gotten food poisoning from the burrito truck, you wouldn't think it is so ridiculous.

The most common method of food borne illness is ice machines in hotels. Most people don't even consider it.

But i agree...there comes a point where the officials can stop officiating. That point seems to be in a silly place right now. But in a litigious society, what can we expect?

Something for people to read if they are interested:

TFER - Texas Food Establishment Rules

I do art and music fairs all the time, and the law simply requires a permit
to sell food of any kind. This should be a lesson learned. I don't see the
problem in shutting her down. Ohhh, cause she's an adorable, squeezable
little child?! Haaaa. No reason for her to be exempt from such fees. Her
parents should have known too, no?

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
But in a litigious society, what can we expect?

Maybe that's the problem. Too many wanting to hit the legal lottery instead of just living and enjoying it.

Kids setting up lemonade stands is an American tradition that has been going on for decades. When I see kids selling lemonade on the corner it brings a smile to my face and brings me back to my youth, we did this all the time. It's fun. Nobody is going to get sick from lemonade, I doubt there has ever been a single case.

What sad times we live in when government officials have to resort to harassing little kids just to get a bit more revenue in their coffers. What a shame.



[edit on 8/5/2010 by Erasurehead]