Canine crackdown at CdM farmers market

Shoppers walking their dogs are not allowed, and steps are being taken to spread the word among residents

The Corona del Mar Farmers Market is the village’s go-to gathering spot Saturday mornings, where friends bump into one another while loading shopping bags with fresh eggs, flowers and fruit, often walking their dogs past signs that say “No Dogs Allowed.”

Dogs violate certain health codes, and this summer, they caught the eye of a county health inspector.

The inspector “was concerned,” said Mike Haller, manager for the Orange County Environmental Health Agency’s Food Protection Program. “There were a lot of dogs…”

…The California Retail Food Code, which is modeled on the Food and Drug Administration’s food code, does not permit animals around food in retail establishments, Haller said.

Dogs must be 20 feet away from farmers’ market food stalls.

“The law just wants to protect the food from cross-contamination,” Haller said earlier this year. “Dogs want to go where the food is. There can be problems when they shake, when the fur flies, or they put their nose into things.”

County health inspectors enforce the rules, making regular inspections, as well as inspections after a receiving a complaint.

The Corona del Mar Farmers Market received notices for violations for dogs in October 2007 and in January 2010, Haller said.

Until this summer, when a complaint was made, the market had been considered in compliance.

Last spring Heil said that enforcing the no-dog rules in the Corona del Mar market is difficult because it’s on a city-owned lot, and dog walkers passing by have every right to do so…

Read the rest of this article by Amy Senk of Corona del Mar Today, on the Daily Pilot’s website.

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