Fantastic! Another magnificent American Folk Festival on the Bangor Waterfront has passed into history. Bangor becomes the largest city in Maine for one weekend every year as more than 130,000 devotees flock to the Queen City for a truly wonderful international music festival. This landmark event showcases the progress that has been made to make Bangor’s waterfront a not-to-miss destination.

With the cruise ships in the harbor, the city’s connection to the ocean becomes much more apparent to visitors. In addition to the variety of world-class musicians, there are memorable and diverse food opportunities to satisfy every palate. Clean, safe and tasty creations are artfully concocted for the enjoyment of all of Bangor’s guests at this three-day event.

Safe and healthful food provided by small outside vendors does not happen by accident. It is important to note that Americans in general and Mainers in particular are very fortunate when it comes to the preparation and serving of food to the public. Rarely is there a problem that results in illness, or even more rarely, in death.

The importance of safely prepared food for the public has been recognized by federal, state and local health regulatory agencies for nearly two centuries. In reality, more than 80 percent of the inspections for food safety in this country are at local and state levels. These are the same agencies that are quick and nimble responders in rare situations in which food contamination is injurious to the public.

For the Folk Festival, Brenda Bilotta of Bangor’s code enforcement office provides condensed safety information (the full food code is 90 pages of regulations) to all food vendors. In four years, the Folk Festival has experienced no complaints about food to code enforcement. There are many potentially hazardous items, mostly meats, cheeses and milk, that must be handled correctly – in storage, preparation, and serving temperatures.

Bilotta spends all day Friday at the festival inspecting the vendors and then into Saturday if she does not complete her rounds. The vendors tend to be very experienced in food service and come from all over, from at least as far away as Florida. The variety of food offerings is amazing, including “alligator nuggets.”

Hand and kitchen utensil sanitation is always challenging in the field, far from a commercial kitchen, and there are many regulations designed to assure frequent and thorough hand-washing and sanitation of kitchen utensils. Proper disposal of waste “gray” water is also regulated. The days of throwing dirty dishwater on the ground out behind the food stand and other unsanitary practices are just memories.

Bangor is most fortunate to have this once-a-year cultural, food, crafts and musical extravaganza on the waterfront each August. The boost to the area economy and the boost to the confidence in what the community united can do and do well cannot be denied. The food service vendor safety net by local and state agencies, in cooperation with the well-trained and knowledgeable vendors, protect all festival-goers and add to the multifaceted splendor of a great time and great food here on the banks of the Penobscot. Well done!

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast CONTACT for Better Business Inc., Maine’s membership-funded, nonprofit organization. An individual annual membership is $25; business memberships start at $125. For consumer help and information write: Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329.