Three months later, the health department called. A customer had reported a “metallic taste” in a jar of Cherry Chutney bought from a winter fair.
She taped a new saying above her stove:
Last spring, a customer found a shard of glass in a jar of “Spiced Plum.” The summer brought a complaint of a swollen lid—fermentation gone wrong. Then, in autumn, a local deli returned a case of “Fig & Walnut,” reporting an odd, metallic aftertaste. Marta’s reputation, carefully built over five years, was crumbling like a stale biscuit.
“HACCP isn’t about fear of failure. It’s about proof of care.”