HB 251: "An Act exempting certain foods and drinks prepared in a person's uninspected home kitchen from state labeling, licensing, packaging, permitting, and inspection requirements; and permitting a person to acquire meat from a producer by way of an ownership share in an animal if certain conditions are met."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 251 01 "An Act exempting certain foods and drinks prepared in a person's uninspected home 02 kitchen from state labeling, licensing, packaging, permitting, and inspection 03 requirements; and permitting a person to acquire meat from a producer by way of an 04 ownership share in an animal if certain conditions are met." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 17.20 is amended by adding new sections to read: 07 Article 7A. Homemade Food; Animal Shares. 08 Sec. 17.20.332. Exemption for homemade food. (a) Production and sale of a 09 homemade food in compliance with this section is exempt from labeling, licensing, 10 packaging, permitting, and inspection requirements in this chapter or in regulations 11 adopted under this chapter or AS 44.46.020(a)(5)(C). 12 (b) The sale of a homemade food under this section 13 (1) must occur in the state at a farmers' market, an agricultural fair, a 14 farm, a ranch, the producer's home or office, the retail location of a third-party seller
01 of non-potentially hazardous food, or a location agreed on between the producer and 02 the buyer; and 03 (2) may not involve 04 (A) interstate commerce; or 05 (B) the purchase or sale of 06 (i) meat or meat products; 07 (ii) seafood; 08 (iii) a controlled substance; 09 (iv) oil rendered from animal fat; or 10 (v) game meat. 11 (c) Except for raw, unprocessed fruits and vegetables, a homemade food may 12 not be sold or used in a commercial food establishment unless the establishment 13 complies with the labeling, licensing, packaging, permitting, and inspection 14 requirements in this chapter and in regulations adopted under this chapter or 15 AS 44.46.020(a)(5)(C). 16 (d) A person who purchases a homemade food under this section may not 17 offer the food for resale. 18 (e) A homemade food may be sold from a retail space located at a ranch, farm, 19 or home where the homemade food is produced. A non-potentially hazardous food 20 may be sold at a retail location of a third-party seller. A retail space selling a 21 homemade food under this section shall inform the buyer that the homemade food has 22 not been inspected and shall display a sign indicating that the homemade food has not 23 been inspected. If a retail space selling potentially hazardous food is in any way 24 associated with a commercial food establishment or offers for sale any inspected food, 25 the retail space shall 26 (1) maintain physical separation from the commercial food 27 establishment with a separate door and separate cash register or point of sale; 28 (2) display signs or other markings clearly indicating which separate 29 spaces offer inspected foods and which offer uninspected foods for sale; 30 (3) maintain separate coolers, freezers, warehouses, or other storage 31 areas to prohibit the intermingling of inspected foods and uninspected foods; and
01 (4) comply with any other requirements specified by the Department of 02 Environmental Conservation relating to homemade food. 03 (f) A non-potentially hazardous food for sale at a retail location or grocery 04 store must be clearly and prominently labeled with the following language: "This food 05 was made in a home kitchen, is not regulated or inspected, and may contain allergens." 06 The non-potentially hazardous food for sale at the retail location or grocery store may 07 not be displayed or offered for sale on the same shelf or display as food produced in a 08 licensed establishment. 09 (g) The seller of a homemade food that consists of potentially hazardous food, 10 except eggs, must also be the producer of the homemade food. The seller of eggs or a 11 homemade food that consists of non-potentially hazardous food may be the producer 12 of the item, an agent of the producer, or a third-party vendor, including a retail shop or 13 grocery store, as long as the sale is made in compliance with this section and all 14 applicable federal and local laws; 15 (h) Before a sale under this section, a producer or third-party seller of a 16 homemade food shall inform the buyer that the homemade food was prepared in 17 accordance with AS 17.20.332 - 17.20.338 and is not subject to certain state 18 certification, labeling, licensing, packaging, regulation, or inspection requirements. 19 (i) A producer may not produce for sale more than 250,000 individual 20 homemade foods or exceed a gross annual revenue of $250,000 each year. 21 Sec. 17.20.334. Animal shares. (a) A person may acquire meat from a 22 producer by way of an ownership interest in the animal or herd from which the meat 23 originated if 24 (1) the meat is 25 (A) delivered directly from the farm or ranch where the animal 26 or herd subject to the person's ownership interest is located; and 27 (B) received by or on behalf of the person with an ownership 28 interest in the animal from which the meat originated; 29 (2) the person's ownership of the animal or herd is established before 30 slaughter; 31 (3) when providing the meat to a person, the producer includes with
01 the meat, or on a label attached to the packaging of the meat, a clearly visible warning 02 that the meat has not been inspected; and 03 (4) the producer provides the person information describing the health 04 of the animal or herd and the meat processing standards of the producer's farm or 05 ranch. 06 (b) A producer or a person designated by a producer may deliver meat to a 07 person at a farm, ranch, farmers' market, home, office, or other location agreed on 08 between the producer and the person. 09 (c) For a person to have an ownership interest in an animal or herd under this 10 section, the person's ownership interest must be documented in a written contract 11 between the person and a producer that includes 12 (1) a bill of sale demonstrating the person's ownership interest in the 13 animal or herd; 14 (2) a boarding provision under which the person boards the animal or 15 herd with the producer for care and processing; and 16 (3) a provision entitling the person to receive a share of meat from the 17 animal or herd. 18 (d) Meat received by an owner of an animal or herd by way of the person's 19 ownership interest under this section may not be sold, donated, or commercially 20 redistributed. 21 (e) A person may not publish a statement that implies that the Department of 22 Environmental Conservation approves or endorses an animal or herd share program or 23 the acquisition of meat under this section. 24 Sec. 17.20.336. Relationship to other laws. (a) The Department of 25 Environmental Conservation may, as authorized under this chapter, 26 (1) conduct inspections necessary to investigate reports of 27 (A) foodborne illness or food-caused injury or death; 28 (B) unsafe sanitary practices; or 29 (C) misbranded or adulterated food; 30 (2) condemn and order the destruction of misbranded or adulterated 31 food; or
01 (3) regulate food or an establishment that is not exempt under 02 AS 17.20.332 - 17.20.338. 03 (b) The Department of Environmental Conservation may, at the request of a 04 producer, provide assistance, consultation, or inspection. 05 (c) AS 17.20.332 - 17.20.338 does not exempt a person from 06 (1) applicable federal and local laws, regulations, and ordinances 07 regarding food; or 08 (2) brand inspection requirements under AS 03.40.250 or animal 09 inspection requirements under AS 03.05.040. 10 Sec. 17.20.338. Definitions. In AS 17.20.332 - 17.20.338, 11 (1) "agricultural fair" means a fair, the major focus of which is 12 displays, exhibitions, demonstrations, contests, or promotions of agricultural concern 13 to the region in which the fair is located; 14 (2) "commercial food establishment" means the premises where an 15 activity related to the display, packaging, preparation, processing, sale, salvaging, 16 service, storage, transportation, or vending of food for human consumption occurs; 17 "commercial food establishment" does not include a kitchen in a private dwelling, or a 18 kitchen in a vessel used solely as a private dwelling, where food is prepared only for 19 home consumption; 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 fresh fruits and vegetables, 23 locally grown farm products, and other agricultural products and items directly to 24 buyers; 25 (5) "game meat" means the flesh and organs of animals that are not 26 classified as meat in 9 C.F.R. 301.2 or as poultry in 9 C.F.R. 381.1(b); 27 (6) "home consumption" means the use or ingestion of food by a 28 person, an employee of the person, or a nonpaying guest of the person at the person's 29 private residence; 30 (7) "homemade food" means a food or drink that 31 (A) is prepared or processed in a person's private home kitchen;
01 and 02 (B) is not licensed, inspected, or regulated by the state other 03 than as provided in AS 17.20.332 - 17.20.338; 04 (8) "meat" means the flesh, muscles, organs, tissues, skin, sinew, 05 nerves, blood vessels, and bones of cattle, sheep, swine, equine, or goats; 06 (9) "molluscan shellfish" means all edible species of oyster, clam, 07 mussel, and scallop, whether shucked or in the shell, fresh or frozen, and in whole or 08 in part; "molluscan shellfish" does not include the shucked scallop adductor muscle; 09 (10) "non-potentially hazardous food" means jams, uncut fruits and 10 vegetables, picked vegetables, hard candies and confections, nut mixes, granola, 11 coffee beans, popcorn, air-dried hard-boiled eggs with the shell intact, and other food 12 or drink that does not require time or temperature control for safety to limit pathogenic 13 microorganism growth or toxin formation, including food that has a pH level of 4.6 or 14 below or a water activity value of 0.85 or less; 15 (11) "potentially hazardous food" means heat-treated fruit and 16 vegetables, fresh herb-in-oil mixtures, garlic-in-oil mixtures, meat, products made 17 with dairy, and other food or drink that requires time or temperature control for safety 18 to limit pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation; 19 (12) "producer" means a person who grows, harvests, prepares, 20 processes, or makes and packages meat or homemade food on the person's owned or 21 leased property; 22 (13) "seafood" includes saltwater fish, freshwater fish, amphibians, 23 crustaceans, molluscan shellfish, any other species of aquatic animal intended for 24 human consumption, and parts or byproducts of any species of aquatic animal 25 intended for human consumption; "seafood" does not include aquatic plants, birds, or 26 mammals.