Fake maple syrup? Vermont senators urge prison time

[The Straight Story]

Fake maple syrup? Vermont senators urge prison time

Vermonters take their maple syrup seriously.

So much so that the state's U.S. senators have introduced legislation that would make it a federal felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, to sell something labeled as maple syrup when it is not.

"Vermont iconic maple syrup -- painstakingly produced, and prized across the nation and beyond -- is one of our state's fine, high-quality, natural products," Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy said in introducing the legislation. A growing number of people are claiming to sell genuine Vermont maple syrup when "they are in fact selling an inferior product that is not maple syrup at all,'' he said, adding that the misrepresentation undermines a key part of Vermont's economy.

"We are very proud of the high-quality maple syrup produced in Vermont," independent Sen. Bernie Sanders said in a news release. "Some of us think it's the best in the world. We think it is terribly wrong for people to produce a phony product and call it Vermont maple syrup."

Leahy, who as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is well positioned to advance the legislation, introduced it in the wake of a recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation that found a Rhode Island man had been selling cane sugar-based syrup as maple syrup.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/10/maple-syrup-vermont-senators-federal-felony.html

[gateley]

1. I don't blame them - real Vermont maple syrup is incredible and

"table syrup"s like Log Cabin shouldn't be allowed to claim they're the Real Deal.

[izquierdista]

4. and...

almost as good as the stuff from Maine. :hide:

[gateley]

5. Haha! Look out! nt

[MedicalAdmin]

18. Which is almost as good as the stuff ...

from Quebec. :popcorn:

[RKP5637]

2. Good, in fact, there are a zillion products wherein similar should apply IMO. Another

place to start would be wall street, banksters and mortgage companies for misrepresentation and fraud.

[Dokkie]

14. I wish someone can show me one of the Syrups the

senators are talking about so I can sue the be Jesus out of them. These companies always cover their asses with fine prints like artificial flavoring or contains 2% real Vermont maple syrup. But then again, the price is usually the give away.

Read the fine prints which btw are shorter and less complicated than the ones that come with credit cards and you will be fine.

[pipi_k]

16. How about....

Vermont Maid Butter Lite syrup?

Mr Pipi buys this shit because he's diabetic and thinks it's healthier than real syrup. I won't even touch it.


Ingredients:

High fructose corn syrup, water, cellulose gum, natural and artificial maple butter flavor, salt, sodium benzoate and sorbic acid, caramel color, sodium citrate, citric acid.

As far as I can see, not one drop of actual maple syrup. Just natural maple butter FLAVOR.

And in a bit of irony, there is a farm about one mile away that makes its own REAL (Massachusetts) maple syrup each spring.

Go figure. As seldom as I make anything requiring maple syrup, we could probably deal with the REAL stuff without a huge problem.

[MedicalAdmin]

19. Mr. Pipi is wrong.

It isn't healthier. And if it's stored in a plastic bottle he is also exposing himself to estrogenic compounds that will lead to some complications with metabolic diseases (although they may be mild initially there is some research trending to these compounds being cumulative for some people.

Besides, it tastes like liquid shit.

on edit: it does have a lower glycemic index, but not that much lower. Just use less and combine the meal with a protein to slow the absorption (plus using a whole grain rather than processed will also slow this process down). It will be healthier and he will need less food to feel as full.

[hlthe2b]

3. Good... I take my maple syrup seriously too

Especially at current prices. Not to mention my near murderous rage if
Someone Tried to pass off HFCS crap on me

[JoeyT]

6. Yeah, with all the problems we have now,

fake maple syrup is chief among them.

But I guess if we can't be bothered to fix any real problems, we can screw around and act like we're doing something useful.

[karynnj]

7. Huge bills have many pieces

Here Sanders and Leahy are doing something that both meets the purpose of the FDA and benefits their state. At the same time, it will benefit people who want to buy real Vermont maple syrup. There is a big difference.

It is not like pushing to add this to the FDA bill would keep Sanders from working on several other issues.

[JoeyT]

12. Good point.

But prison? The FDA can't or won't even put someone in prison for selling you stuff that kills you, but we're going to give them that ability over selling someone sugar that came from the wrong kind of plant?

[karynnj]

13. I wish the FDA could put people in prision if they KNOWINGLY sold

products that were tainted. Proving it would be tough, but if done knowingly, there should be huge consequences.

Prison is be too much for selling fake syrup - but a hefty fine that obliterates any gain from the fraud and then some would be appropriate.

[AsahinaKimi]

8. I used to buy

Canadian maple syrup because I wasn't sure about whether or not the American stuff didn't have additives. Back then you could buy the maple sugar candies too.. I don't so much any more.. I don't need the added poundage.

[LWolf]

9. I take maple syrup seriously as well.

That's why I always read the label on the syrup before I buy it. It doesn't have to come from Vermont, as long as it is pure maple without additives.

As a matter of fact, I prefer the darker, grade "B" syrup.

[Dokkie]

15. Bingo

Read the 1 or 2 line fine print and you will never be fooled. Also the sticker price is another way verify if it is really Vermont or Canadian maple syrup. Don't expect to buy real maple syrup for $2:99 (27 fl oz)

[madokie]

10. Good for them

We have some maple trees on our home place and a few years back I tapped them and made my own maple syrup. hmmm hmmm good.
We also have a shagbark hickory tree and one day I plan to take a piece of the bark and make some hickory syrup again. You do it completely different than making maple syrup as you don't gather the sap instead you use the inner bark to give sugar syrup a hickory flavor. You'd have to try it to believe how good that is.

[pipi_k]

17. How much syrup

did you actually get in the end?

I read someplace that it takes like 40 gallons of sap to boil down to 1 gallon of syrup. Or something like that.

I only have one sugar maple in my yard that I know of, and I would love to make a bit of syrup myself, but not sure how much I would actually get from one tree.

[madokie]

20. I had 40 gallons of sap but not anywhere near a gallon of syrup in the end

our maple trees aren't sugar maple so they don't have as much sugar content in the sap as sugar maple does. You can make maple syrup from any of the maple trees just some it takes less sap to get the same amount of syrup.

[Atman]

11. First IHOP in VT opened a couple of years ago...only if they served real VT maple syrup.

None of that HFCS shit at the only VT IHOP. I wonder if there is a full time enforcement officer.