Food and Law: Gastro-Law

Published: American TurkNetwork Magazine, Washington DC, July 2025 , "CULINARY CHRONICLES"

Why do we need laws to eat our delicious meals?

From farm to table, our food system is governed by numerous laws and regulations that protect consumers and ensure food safety. Here are key areas that impact our daily lives.

Food Safety and Security: As everyone is aware, producers, restaurants and markets are subject to health codes and liability for food poisoning cases, as well as hygiene, pest control, and allergen incidents.

Food Crime: Food fraud is a crime; mislabeling cases such as misleading information, excessive, unnecessary misleading information, and unreadable labeling are confusing for consumers. There are several laws regarding menus and labeling. For instance: “Truth in menu laws”; what “zero calories,” “best by dates,” “organic,” “local,” or “fresh,” or “fruit juice” actually means legally!

Modern beverage companies’ calorie calculations often differ from real-world calorie content. When someone drinks two cans of zero-calorie soda daily, they’re assuming that they consumed around 2-4 “zero-calorie” drinks. However, it means that 2-4 company “zero-calorie” is equal to 250-300 real-world calories. A significant difference that consumers should understand. Additionally, customers should be aware of their right to free water service at all food establishments, including coffee shop chains.

Restaurant managers also have a responsibility. We are not aware of “dram shop laws.” Establishments can be held liable for serving and selling alcoholic beverages to visibly intoxicated Patrons, who later cause accidents or injuries; it is crystal clear that businesses are legally responsible for damages caused by an intoxicated customer.

Moreover, customers have “proper delivery service” rights; for instance, temperature requirements must be maintained during transportation by delivery services. Restaurants are responsible for ensuring food safety, while delivery services are liable for handling.

There are many interesting aspects to explore regarding gastro-law. These laws protect both customers and establishments. New subjects like “AI integration in the food industry” need to be addressed by lawmakers.

When Law Meets the Kitchen: How Attorneys Shaped Our Food System

The 4th of July is coming. Happy 4th! We will celebrate our 250th birthday next year; farmers and lawyers played a significant role in the establishment of the United States.

John Winthrop was an English Puritan lawyer and a leading figure in the founding of Massachusetts Bay Colony. (Colonial Era) 1600s

John Adams, was a lawyer, a Founding Father, and the second president of the United States- 1797 to 1801

George Washington was a farmer at heart. He highlights his admiration for agriculture: “Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful, and most noble employment of man.” in a letter to John Sinclair on July 20, 1794 (The National Archives Founders Online, and mountvernon.org/library)

American colonists enacted a replica of the Assize of Bread regulation in 1646, and later, in 1785 Massachusetts enacted "An Act Against Selling Unwholesome Provisions," widely regarded as the first U.S. food safety law passed. This act made it punishable to knowingly sell "diseased, corrupted, contagious or unwholesome provisions," It marked a significant step in protecting public health through regulation of the food supply. 1862 – USDA and FDA formed during President Abraham Lincoln, and 1906 – Pure Food and Drug Act and Federal Meat Inspection Act passed in the term of Theodore Roosevelt

Their influence shaped American culinary aspects.

Here are some meals on America’s table since 1776: Hoe cake, turtle soup, poached salmon, green peas, boiled potato, hot pot pie, apple pandowdy, classic barbeque, lobster, chicken salad, stew pie, roast beef, mutton, veal, pork, turkey, oyster, stuff a leg of veal, calf’s head, sea pie, tongue pie, rice pudding, Indian pudding, homemade sausage so on and on. When you research American culinary features, you can find exciting hot meal recipes and techniques. You can also see the recipes from the American Antiquarian cookbook collection “American Cookery” by Amelia Simmons, which was published in 1796.

When Tradition Meets Your Kitchen: How Engineering Shapes Method

My husband and I recently visited the George Washington’s Mansion at Mount Vernon. If you haven’t been there, I recommend seeing the Potomac River through the eyes of the First President and experiencing the 1700s landscape, as the area has been preserved. From an agricultural engineer’s perspective, I noticed the smokehouse for preserving meats, homemade sausages.

Smoking and salting are fascinating traditional preservation methods with roots dating back thousands of years. For example, the history of sausage making dates back to 3100 BCE with Sumerian and Akkadian tablets. These techniques had been used in early America and are still being used today. The science behind the combination of smoking and salting works by removing moisture from the meat while adding antimicrobial compounds to the smoke. Salt draws out water through osmosis, creating an environment where harmful bacteria can’t survive. Different cultures developed unique variations; heavy salting and smoking methods are well-preserved techniques of food preservation. The preservation time could range from a few weeks to several months, depending on the salt concentration and smoking duration. These techniques have been embedded in the language over the years. According to the online thesaurus dictionary and etymology dictionary, in Middle English, ‘sausige’ was derived from Norman French ‘sauseche’ or ‘saucis’, which was itself derived from the Late Latin ‘salsicia’ (from Latin salsus, ‘salted’) from past participle of Old Latin sallere “to salt,”

Recently, I had the chance to chat with the creators of a delicious homemade sausage taste that lingered in my mouth from a recent tasting. This July 4th celebration would be an excellent opportunity for us to continue this tradition once a year, not just as a meal together but also as an activity we can enjoy with loved ones. Oleg and Kate possess a deep-rooted knowledge of food, which stems from their family background. Kate's family has a farm. She grew up on a farm and later expanded her expertise with additional insight. They are both Engineers and Technology Consultants. What inspired them to get into cooking is having a big family, which is an advantage of family kitchen culture. Besides daily cooking routines, special occasions and events are a great experience for food preparation, decoration, and sharing feelings. They specified the emotion by the expression: "There's a special feeling when everyone enjoys the food, and you can see the happiness on their faces”.

I'm sharing our conversation exactly as it is; thus, you can't miss anything.

I asked about the specific dish that they shared with us.

"The first dish we shared with you is homemade sausage. I no longer follow an exact recipe, as I've done it so many times—I know how much seasoning is needed just by feel and experience.

We buy natural casing from the Amish market in Germantown. The meat is a 50/50 blend of beef and pork, and we always select cuts with minimal muscle—brisket works well. You can adjust the ratio according to your mouthfeel and preference. Everything is cut by hand into small cubes. We add smoked bacon for extra flavor and juiciness, then season with fresh garlic, salt, black pepper, paprika, and dried onion. The mixture is marinated for 24 hours before being hand-stuffed into the casing.

For smoking, we use only fruitwood. The smoking process takes about 3–4 hours, depending on the size and cut of the meat. The sausage can be served hot or cold—Frankly, it's great for sandwiches.

The second dish in the picture is a version of what people call "Texas Twinkies." You can find variations online, but here's how I make them:

I fill halved jalapeño peppers with a mixture of cheddar cheese, cream cheese, and chopped homemade beef brisket. After stuffing the peppers, I wrap them generously with bacon. Once baked, the bacon turns crispy, adding a delicious, smoky, and juicy flavor to the dish."

Which cooking technique do you find the most challenging?

“In the beginning, it was hard to control the temperature of the grill and meat; we burned the meat many times. Then we started cooking it side by side with the fire, not directly over it. After that, we found out that the smaller section of the grill could be used for maintaining the temperature and smoke, and the large one would have meats. Then, there was another challenge, as the meat would come out too dry, and we decided to wrap it in aluminum foil. We then realized that meat in foil doesn't absorb the wood flavor. So, in today's iteration of our process, we have two aluminum trays with boiled drinking water under meat at all times. This yields a great smoky flavor, and the meat stays juicy.”

The interesting part is the oven and fire materials; I asked them about the use of wood. They go, "We started the grill with natural wood charcoal, then we started adding the actual wood. After the actual wood turns into coals, we close the large section of the grill, and it starts warming up. Then we pour boiled water into the trays and put sausages and meats on the grill. We maintained the temperature right around 200°F for the entire time; occasionally, we would increase the temperature to give the meat a little bark and color”.

Thank you, Oleg and Kate, for sharing your joy of food with us. Your engineering background helps with your methodical approach in the kitchen. It was a pleasant bite, a proper portion for our health, and a fantastic journey from history to today's America as I conversed with them and prepared my article for TurkNetwork followers.

Remembering history and refreshing your memories is essential. A recipe is nothing; a method is everything. It passes from generation to generation with discoveries. Happy Fourth of July!