Gabriel Claycamp of The Swinery and Culinary Communion announced yesterday that (after various delays) the King County Health Department “has fully approved our bacon” and that it is now available for pre-order (e-mail him at sales@swinerymeats.org). Claycamp also also urged “any haters out there” to call the health department and verify that he is 100% legal.

Not being a hater, but being a journalist, I checked in with the health department, and got this caveat: While Claycamp has indeed received a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points permit to make and sell bacon at his Beacon Hill business, a different permit — his annual permit to operate a food establishment in that space — has actually expired. It was only good through March 31.

The health department doesn’t immediately shut people down for operating with an expired permit, said spokesman James Apa, but Claycamp needs to pay his annual fee if he wants to make and sell bacon from that location, and he’ll start facing added fees and penalties if he doesn’t pay the bill soon. The permit fee varies depending on the size of the space and the assessed risk — in Claycamp’s case, the bill comes to $736 — but it can’t be pro-rated, so he would be paying a year’s fee for what would amount to a month’s worth of business. (He could apply for a 6-month seasonal permit, but has not yet done so.)

Claycamp closed down his Culinary Communion cooking school on the site last month, and wrote in his Swinery message that he has lost his lease “because of the stairwell drama” and will be out of the building by the end of April. He wrote that he has closed the Lunch Counter restaurant at the site, and that the Swinery will be closed “for at least a while (while we look for a new home, which may or may not be in this state).”

Don’t look for the Swinery at farmers markets, which had been Claycamp’s original plan. He has withdrawn his application to sell at farmers markets, Apa said, so the old Culinary Communion site is currently the only place he may make and sell the bacon. The permit does not cover other cured meats, Apa said, and would not cover delivering bacon to customers off-site. And, while the HACCP permit itself would remain good if Claycamp wanted to make bacon at another site, he would need to apply for another variance if he chose to operate somewhere else.

Claycamp wrote that he is selling bacon at $12/lb, sausage at $8, and bacon explosions at $20 apiece, among other goods, and that pickup will be available April 19-24. He asked the media and his fans to “please forward this on to EVERYBODY and we have special BACON PIMP shirts for anyone who organizes/buys 50# or more. Also T-Shirts are half price with a purchase of 5# or more. Spread the word. Not a secret anymore.” There you have it.

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