Vt suspends Seal of Quality stamp on maple syrup, other food; Misuse makes it meaningless

Vt. lawmakers hope to save state Seal of Quality

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont’s familiar Seal of Quality on maple syrup and other packaged foods has been suspended because it’s fallen into misuse and become meaningless, the state’s agriculture chief says.

Still some lawmakers want to save the Seal.

Agriculture Secretary Roger Allbee told two Senate committees Wednesday that the Seal, created in 1982 to tout the purity of Vermont food products, is being stamped on products ranging from dog food to beer.

He said the Seal of Quality program doesn’t have sufficient standards or inspections ensuring the standards are followed.

And interest in safeguarding the Seal has waxed and waned over its 28 years.

“It hasn’t seen a budget line item, and it’s been held together something like farm equipment — a piece of wire and a length of bailing twine,” Allbee said.

Members of the Senate Agriculture and Economic Development committees politely grilled Allbee, telling him they want to look for some way to keep and enhance the program as a marketing tool for Vermont products.

If so, there are all sorts of questions to address.

For instance, a Quebec-made yogurt that uses Vermont milk has been carrying the oval-shaped Seal with “Vermont” in script and the smaller block letters “Seal of Quality” above it on the label.

Is Vermont milk as a raw material sufficient, or does the finished product have to be made in the state? If the finished “Vermont-made” product is a chocolate-chip cookie, is it OK to have the chocolate originate in South America? Cacao trees don’t grow anywhere near Vermont.

Among merchants selling products stamped with the Seal, the symbol appears to be getting mixed reviews.

Steve Clayton, owner of the Shelburne Supermarket, said he sells a number of Vermont products but finds their popularity less dependent on the Seal than on their individual reputations.

“If it’s a local Vermont product that lives up to their name, they don’t need the Seal because they’re quality products,” he said.

Clem Nilan, general manager of the City Market in Burlington, said his customers are willing to pay a premium when a product is marketed as coming from Vermont. People like to support the local economy, and perceive high quality in the Vermont name, he said.

“There’s really going to be a farmers’ market quality to it,” he said of the customer’s perception of Vermont products. “There’s a lot of integrity around it.”

Committee members said they weren’t sure what a legislative fix would look like, but they want to craft one.

Sen. Matthew Choate, D-Caledonia, said he recently met with maple syrup producers in his district and they were “all very supportive of keeping the Seal.”

Current law and regulations set out detailed instructions for meeting the quality standards to warrant the symbol, Choate said later. He questioned why the Agriculture Agency wasn’t doing a better job of implementing the current rules.

Allbee said a lack of funds and enough staff to run the program were to blame.

Committee members said new legislation could leave more of the costs of the program to the private sector. One idea floated was for those seeking the Vermont Seal of Quality for their products to get a third-party company to certify that they met standards set by the state.

Nilan said stepping up the assurances behind the Seal sounded like a good idea to him.

“I like the fact that if we’re going to do it we’re going to do it in the right way, we’re going to have some integrity in the process,” he said.