Hiding The Salamis

Hiding The Salamis

For the past 119 years (yes, 119, that's no typo) Katz's Delicatessen on Houston Street in New York has been hanging salamis on its walls.  The dried, aged salamis have been on display, hanging on racks behind the counters and in the big front window since before the turns of the century -- that's the turn from the 1800s to the 1900s, and the turn from the 1900s to the 2000s.



Not a single person has become ill, nor has a complaint been lodged with Katz's or with the NYC Dept. of Health over a salami, or over the fact that the sealed (yes, there's a thin paper wrapping around the hanging salamis, featuring Katz's logo and the requisite info on all food-for-sale items) salamis have been hanging in the deli for al these years.  But some enterprising public servant armed with power and authority forced Katz's to take down hundreds of salamis, declaring them a health hazard.  Katz's was not only forbidden to sell the items, but the staff had to watch as the  chlorine was poured over all the salamis --by the Health Department!-- in order to destroy them.

And, I might add, to actually poison them.  Make them inedible. To turn them into what would truly be a health risk.  Yes, the Department of Health not only declares food for risk, it goes the extra mile and makes them so.

Seeing all these salamis hanging in Katz's was a major selling point.  See 'em, buy 'em, send them.  There are readers of this blog who have received salamis from DeanLand.  Well, salamis from DeanLand by way of Katz's.  Now Katz's has put up salamis with notes saying "for display only, not for sale."  Yeah, real encouraging for sales.

Why now, after 119 years, does some Health Inspector declare the hanging salamis to be a hazard?  I've bought any number of these for myself and for others, and not a one of us has had a complaint, or even a stomach ache.  A burp, maybe, but a problem?  Never.

So now we must take up a new slogan: send a complaint to your boys and girls in the Health Department.  There are countless hazards all over, but some shnook decides that Katz's salamis are a threat, a danger.

Obviously this represents a major failure in the NYC Health Department.  Phooey on them.  How dare they change the colloquial meaning of hide the salami?!