Beware of Scallywag’s Jersey Scallions

Have you ever had a counterfeit $20 snagged by a cashier or bank teller? You felt an immediate wallet pain, no doubt. Maybe you got red faced, tried to think where you got the darn thing, and then hoped no Secret Service agent was hiding behind the pretzels waiting to throw you in handcuffs.
Maybe you have walked an amazing seaside wooden way in, say, Wildwood and wondered about some products that were “name brands” for pennies on the dollar. Did you ever ask, “Are those counterfeit?”
Have you ever wondered how some astute merchant on a city street corner could possibly offer a Rolex watch for $25 or a Coach bag for $15? Made in some Third World back room to be sure, those products all use a valued trade name or trademark to put value on something relatively worthless.
Never fear, farmers and fishermen of this fair Garden State, your solons from the First and Third Legislative districts, Assembly Democrats Matthew Milam, Nelson Albano and Celeste Riley, have heard your cries of injustice and are ready to act to thwart fraudulent farmers and fishers who pass their produce off as “Jersey Fresh” when, in fact, it is not.
No joking around, this is serious stuff. When health conscious, bargain-hunting shoppers seek out corn, beans, blueberries, carrots and lima (love ‘em) beans under that red and green logo “Jersey Fresh From the Garden State,” Milam, Albano and Riley want them to know it really came from this side of the Delaware River and Bay, or this side of the state line from Pennsylvania and New York.
So resolute are the three Jersey Fresh warriors that they have sponsored legislation that would, according to an Assembly Democrats’ release, “put some serious teeth into the laws governing the use of the Jersey Fresh brand, in an effort to cull counterfeit food products claiming to have New Jersey ingredients.” The proposal was released from Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, which Albano chairs, on Oct. 15.
There are probably some who wonder why fuss about such stuff?
Ask Walt Disney Company’s careful eyes and ears, why do they watch the boardwalk stores for fake Mickey and Minnie toys, T-shirts and other trinkets?
Ask Wham-O Corp. why they so carefully guard their Frisbee and Hula Hoop names.
If you slice your finger on a weekend project, one of the first things you scrounge for in the medicine cabinet is a Band-Aid which, of course, is produced by New Jersey’s own Johnson & Johnson.
When it’s time for some fun on the water, you will likely ride a Jet-Ski made by Kawasaki. If it’s not made by them, it’s just a “personal watercraft.”
See how this is tied together? What we readily associate with a certain level of quality is something the producer is not ready to give away (pilfered would be a better word) to anyone who thinks they have a product worthy to share the same limelight and the profits.
That is exactly how the Democratic trio views Jersey Fresh. Those who can’t tell the difference between a succulent, Jersey Fresh tomato, and one of those Mexican or California knock-offs that come our way after real product is out of season might not fully understand. On the other hand, Jerseyans instinctively know the distinct smell and flavor of Jersey veggies, and if one of those pink punks is tossed in our salad, we know it cannot be Jersey Fresh. What of the poor schmuck in Elizabeth or Hillsdale who enters a restaurant and believes the fare before him is “Jersey Fresh” when it isn’t? Ah, there’s the bite!
Back to the release, “The ‘Jersey Fresh’ label conveys an expectation of a certain level of taste and quality that consumers have come to trust,” stated Milam. “When consumers buy counterfeit products with that label, it doesn’t just impact their experience; it damages the entire reputation of the ‘Jersey Fresh’ branch, which is something that our farmers and our retailers simply can’t afford.”
She’s the lawmaker, I’m not, so I’ll have to take it as true when Riley stated, “While there are already laws on the books that prohibit trying to pass off produce, vegetables and meat and fish as ‘Jersey Fresh,’ we won’t really have a system in place to remove the goods once they’ve made it to store shelves.” The proposed legislation, she stated, would put such a system of eradication in place. Riley added, “Leaving counterfeit ‘Jersey Fresh’ products in stores benefits no one.”
Albano, a shop steward who works for Village Markets, parent of ShopRite, added, “We need to get them off the market as quickly as possible. Nabisco or Kraft wouldn’t tolerate counterfeiters trying to pass knock-off Oreos or Mac and Cheese as they real thing on store shelves and neither should the farmers, butchers and fishermen behind the ‘Jersey Fresh’ label.”
A law presently on the books prohibits and sets fines for those who use the state (New Jersey) outline on agricultural products not produced here. The proposal, (A-2871) would “supplement existing law to include specific prohibitions against using “Jersey Fresh” logos and branding on agricultural products not produced here, and would provide for the seizure and forfeiture of bogus products.
To be specific, the bill would prohibit advertising and packaging from “implying in any way” that the seafood, produce or other agri-product was Jersey Fresh when, in fact, it was not, UNLESS:
• The product complies with all relevant Department of Agriculture grading standards for freshness for use of such branding.
• The individual has first obtained a license and registration number from the department authorizing such use of branding in association with that particular product.
Legal teeth? The fake grub, once discovered, could be ordered seized by a judge, and those who put it there will have a day in court. When the robed jurist determines the produce to be counterfeit, it may be destroyed, donated or lawfully sold.
As with many beneficial laws, no cell phone blabbing or texting while driving or bike helmets mandated for kiddies under age 14, I ask: How will this well-meant law be enforced?
In memory of the late Steve Peckiconis from Cape May, who often chided City Council: Don’t put a law on the books if you don’t intend to enforce it.