UNION SQUARE — Cheesemongers at Union Square's greenmarket say the state's new crackdown on rules banning them from slicing their product in public without a license stinks like Gorgonzola.
Under rules now being enforced by the state's Department of Agriculture and Markets, farmers are no longer allowed to slice and wrap their cheese wheels at markets in New York unless they have a license to process food. They can only get that license if they have, for instance, a three-basin sink and hot water heater.
"It eliminates the personal touch, the beauty or freedom, if you will, of the farmers' market," said Jody Somers, of Dancing Ewe Farm, which makes artisanal caciotta, pecorino and ricotta in Granville, New York.
"We try to do the right thing on the farm. We try to treat the animals well. We trudge four hours to get here," Somers added. "We're under everyone's thumb."
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