Yeah it sounds as if they way over-compensated from the lax approach that has existed up until now. But that is normal in a way when dealing with these folks - most of whom have no training and only minimal experience. Time has a way of swinging the pendulum back toward the more reasonable center (if for no other reason than the minimal entries they will see).

But until then I'd rather see this approach than the total lack of safety concerns they have exhibited in the past. And maybe some of that safety aspect will rub off on others who now have to actually read the guidelines rather than just do things the way they 'think' Grandma did it..

Dave

Is the contest sponsered by Ball....? LOL

Well, I had to laugh when I saw this "addendum to the rules" yesterday afternoon:

"The goal of our Home Canning Show rules is to make sure that the proper processing guidelines are followed for food safety reasons. We realize that the wording of the rules did not convey the correct message [and my note: neither did the folks that answered the phone who were probably just following orders] and our sincerest apologies to our Home Canning Show exhibitors for any confusion this may have caused. Adaption to a recipe is fine as long as jars are properly sealed and processed according to the guidelines as previously mentioned. We will also accept your own recipe as long as the correct processing procedure was followed for that product."

I guess they didn't get very many entries, so they even extended the deadline. We figured that would happen...