A new rule requiring permits for homemade foods sellers went into effect on Jan. 1, 2010 in New Mexico.

The permits are mandated by the state Environment Department and will cost $100. This will allow the sale of homemade goods including baked goods, tortillas, jams and jellies, dry mixes and candies.

To obtain a permit, home-based food processors must pay the fee, attend food safety training and allow the New Mexico Environment Department to inspect their kitchens. This new permit process was introduced to monitor the safety of goods sold at farmers markets, roadside stands, fairs and fiestas. Visit http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/fod/Food_Program/HomeBasedProcessing.htm

A day or three ago I read a message from someone who asked, very reasonably, why make bread from scratch when it's possible to turn out bread from prepared mixes at  lower cost and which rise every time. They're good questions and they're ones we may all have asked at some previous time.

 My reasons are that I can now make bread with a better taste and texture doing it from scratch. My loaves stay fresh (this is Tuesday evening and I've just eaten some of the bread I made last Thursday morning) and have a great taste. But, more than that, I'm persuaded that modern "factory Bread" is not something I want to eat or to dose my family with. (I include pre-packed mixes in that exclusion.)

I encourage anyone interested in this topic to go to http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/the-shocking-truth-about-bread-413156.html and http://www.grain.org/seedling/?id=471 for two articles which, although based on the views and research of one highly successful baker, are sufficiently different that it's worth reading and printing out both of them.

I'm sorry to have misplaced the original post but hope the poster may come across this reply.

Sojourner