HB 415: "An Act relating to exemptions for the purchase and sale of certain food products for home consumption under the Alaska Food Freedom Act."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 415 01 "An Act relating to exemptions for the purchase and sale of certain food products for 02 home consumption under the Alaska Food Freedom Act." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 05 to read: 06 PURPOSE. The purpose of this Act is to allow a producer to sell homemade food 07 products to an informed end consumer and to encourage the expansion of homemade food 08 sales at farmers' markets, agricultural fairs, ranches, farms, and producers' homes to informed 09 end consumers by providing Alaskan citizens with unimpeded access to healthy food from 10 known sources. 11 * Sec. 2. AS 17.20 is amended by adding new sections to read: 12 Article 7A. Alaska Food Freedom Act. 13 Sec. 17.20.331. Exemption for the purchase and sale of food products for 14 home consumption. (a) Except as otherwise provided in AS 17.20.331 - 17.20.339,
01 homemade food products produced, sold, and consumed in compliance with this 02 section are exempt from state labeling, licensing, packaging, permitting, and 03 inspection requirements. 04 (b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a transaction that qualifies 05 under this section 06 (1) shall occur only within the state; 07 (2) shall be directly between the seller and the informed end consumer; 08 (3) shall occur only at a farmers' market, agricultural fair, farm, ranch, 09 producer's home or office, the retail location of a third-party seller of non-potentially 10 hazardous foods, or a location agreed on between the producer and the informed end 11 consumer; 12 (4) may not involve interstate commerce; and 13 (5) may not involve the purchase or sale of 14 (A) meat or meat products, except for the sale of meat in 15 accordance with an animal share under AS 17.20.332; 16 (B) seafood; 17 (C) a controlled substance; 18 (D) oil rendered from animal fat; or 19 (E) game meat. 20 (c) Except for raw, unprocessed fruits and vegetables, a homemade food 21 product may not be sold or used in a commercial food establishment unless the 22 product has been labeled, licensed, packaged, regulated, and inspected as required by 23 law. 24 (d) Nothing in (c) of this section prohibits the sale of a homemade food 25 product from a retail space located at the ranch, farm, or home where the product is 26 produced, or prohibits the sale of non-potentially hazardous food at the retail location 27 of a third-party seller. A retail space selling a homemade food product under this 28 section shall inform the end consumer that the product has not been inspected and 29 shall display a sign indicating that the product has not been inspected. If a retail space 30 selling potentially hazardous food is in any way associated with a commercial food 31 establishment or offers for sale any inspected product, the retail space shall
01 (1) be physically separate from the commercial food establishment 02 with a separate door and separate cash register or point of sale; 03 (2) display signs or other markings clearly indicating which separate 04 spaces offer inspected products and which offer uninspected products for sale; 05 (3) maintain separate coolers, freezers, warehouses, or other storage 06 areas to prohibit the intermingling of inspected and uninspected products; and 07 (4) comply with any other requirements specified by the department to 08 ensure the sale of homemade food products is made to an informed end consumer. 09 (e) A non-potentially hazardous food for sale at a retail location or grocery 10 store shall be clearly and prominently labeled with the following language: "This food 11 was made in a home kitchen, is not regulated or inspected, and may contain allergens." 12 The non-potentially hazardous food for sale at the retail location or grocery store may 13 not be displayed or offered for sale on the same shelf or display as food produced in a 14 licensed establishment. 15 (f) The seller of a homemade food product that consists of potentially 16 hazardous food, except eggs, must also be the producer of the product. The seller of 17 eggs or a homemade food product that consists of non-potentially hazardous food may 18 be the producer of the item, an agent of the producer, or a third-party vendor, 19 including a retail shop or grocery store, as long as the sale is made in compliance with 20 this section and all applicable federal and local laws; 21 (g) Prior to a sale under this section, a producer or third-party seller of a 22 homemade food product shall inform the end consumer that the product was prepared 23 in accordance with the Alaska Food Freedom Act and is not subject to certain state 24 certification, labeling, licensing, packaging, regulation, or inspection requirements. 25 Sec. 17.20.332. Animal shares. (a) The acquisition of meat from an animal by 26 an informed end consumer does not constitute the sale of meat or meat products in 27 contravention of AS 17.20.331 if 28 (1) the meat is delivered in accordance with an animal share and is 29 (A) received from the farm or ranch where an animal or herd 30 subject to the animal share is located; 31 (B) received by or on behalf of an owner of an animal share;
01 and 02 (C) obtained from the particular animal or herd subject to the 03 animal share; 04 (2) ownership of the animal is established prior to slaughter; 05 (3) a prominent warning statement that the meat has not been inspected 06 is delivered to the informed end consumer with the meat or is displayed on a label 07 affixed to the meat packaging; and 08 (4) information describing the standards used by the farm or ranch 09 with respect to herd health and the processing of meat from the herd is provided to the 10 informed end consumer by the farmer or rancher. 11 (b) The delivery of meat under this section may occur by the producer or the 12 producer's designated agent at a farm, ranch, farmers' market, home, office, or any 13 location agreed on between the producer and the informed end consumer. 14 (c) A person who obtains meat in accordance with this section may not sell, 15 donate, or commercially redistribute the meat. 16 (d) A farmer or rancher may not publish any statement that implies the 17 department's approval or endorsement of meat delivered in accordance with an animal 18 share under this section. 19 Sec. 17.20.337. Exceptions. Nothing in AS 17.20.331 - 17.20.339 20 (1) prevents the department from 21 (A) conducting inspections necessary to investigate reports of 22 (i) foodborne illness, food caused injury, or death; 23 (ii) unsafe sanitary practices; or 24 (iii) misbranded or adulterated food; 25 (B) condemning and ordering the destruction of misbranded or 26 adulterated food; or 27 (C) regulating food products or establishments not exempt 28 under AS 17.20.331 - 17.20.339; 29 (2) shall be construed as changing the requirements for brand 30 inspection or animal health inspection; 31 (3) precludes an agency from providing assistance, consultation, or
01 inspection at the request of a producer; 02 (4) shall be construed as being more restrictive than applicable federal 03 requirements; or 04 (5) affects any federal or local laws, regulations, or ordinances 05 regarding food products. 06 Sec. 17.20.338. Definitions. In AS 17.20.331 - 17.20.338, 07 (1) "agricultural fair" means a fair, the major focus of which is 08 displays, exhibitions, demonstrations, contests, or promotions of agricultural concern 09 to the region in which the fair is located; 10 (2) "animal share" means an ownership interest in an animal or herd of 11 animals created by a written contract between an informed end consumer and a farmer 12 or rancher that 13 (A) includes a bill of sale to the consumer for an ownership 14 interest in the animal or herd; 15 (B) includes a boarding provision under which the consumer 16 boards the animal or herd with the farmer or rancher for care and processing; 17 and 18 (C) entitles the consumer to receive a share of meat from the 19 animal or herd; 20 (3) "controlled substance" has the meaning given in AS 11.71.900; 21 (4) "farmers' market" means a common facility or area where several 22 vendors may gather on a regular and recurring basis to sell a variety of fresh fruits and 23 vegetables, locally grown farm products, and other agricultural products and items 24 directly to consumers; 25 (5) "food establishment" means the premises where any activity occurs 26 that is related to the display, packaging, preparation, processing, sale, salvaging, 27 service, storage, transportation, or vending of food for human consumption; "food 28 establishment" 29 (A) includes various types of operations, singly or in 30 combination, within the categories of food service, food processing 31 establishment, and market;
01 (B) does not include a kitchen in a private dwelling, including a 02 vessel used solely as a private dwelling, where food is prepared for 03 consumption by family members or a nonpaying guest; 04 (6) "game meat" means the flesh and organs of animals that are not 05 classified as "meat" in 9 C.F.R. 301.2 or "poultry" in 9 C.F.R. 381.1(b); "game meat" 06 includes 07 (A) warm-blooded animals, including seals, whales, caribou, 08 moose, mountain sheep, mountain goats, walrus, bears, squirrels, musk oxen, 09 and rabbits; 10 (B) cold-blooded animals, including snakes, lizards, turtles, 11 crocodiles, and alligators; 12 (C) exotic animals, including reindeer, elk, deer, antelope, 13 water buffalo, and bison; and 14 (D) game birds, including pheasant, grouse, quail, squab, 15 migratory water fowl, emu, rhea, and ostrich; 16 (7) "home consumption" means the use or ingestion of a food product 17 by an informed end consumer, employee, or nonpaying guest of a private residence; 18 (8) "homemade food" means food or drink that 19 (A) is prepared or processed in a private home kitchen; and 20 (B) is not licensed, inspected, or regulated by the state; 21 (9) "informed end consumer" means a person who is the last person to 22 purchase the product, does not resell the product, and has been informed that the 23 product is not licensed, regulated, or inspected; 24 (10) "meat" means the flesh, muscle, organs, tissue, skin, sinew, nerve, 25 blood vessels, and bone of any cattle, sheep, swine, equine, or goats; 26 (11) "molluscan shellfish" means all edible species of oyster, clam, 27 mussel, and scallop, whether shucked, in the shell, fresh or frozen, in whole or in part; 28 "molluscan shellfish" does not include the shucked scallop adductor muscle; 29 (12) "non-potentially hazardous food" means food or drink that does 30 not require time or temperature control for safety to limit pathogenic microorganism 31 growth or toxin formation, including food that has a pH level of 4.6 or below or a
01 water activity value of 0.85 or less; "non-potentially hazardous food" includes jams, 02 uncut fruits and vegetables, pickled vegetables, hard candies and confections, nut 03 mixes, granola, coffee beans, popcorn, and air-dried hard-boiled eggs with the shell 04 intact; 05 (13) "potentially hazardous food" means food or drink that requires 06 time or temperature control for safety to limit pathogenic microorganism growth or 07 toxin formation; "potentially hazardous food” includes heat-treated fruit and 08 vegetables, fresh herb-in-oil mixtures, garlic-in-oil mixtures, meat, and products made 09 with dairy; 10 (14) "producer" means a person, including a farmer or rancher, who 11 (A) grows, harvests, prepares, processes, or makes and 12 packages a food product on the person's owned or leased property; 13 (B) does not produce more than two hundred fifty thousand 14 individual food products annually; and 15 (C) does not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars in gross 16 revenue annually from the food products; 17 (15) "seafood" 18 (A) includes 19 (i) salt-water fish, freshwater fish, amphibians, 20 crustaceans, molluscan shellfish, and any other species of aquatic 21 animal intended for human consumption; and 22 (ii) any part or byproduct of any species of aquatic 23 animal intended for human consumption; and 24 (B) does not include aquatic plants, birds, or mammals. 25 Sec. 17.20.339. Short title. AS 17.20.331 - 17.20.339 may be cited as the 26 Alaska Food Freedom Act.