BILL ANALYSIS |
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C.S.H.B. 970 |
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By: Rodriguez, Eddie |
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Public Health |
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Committee Report (Substituted) |
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties assert that foods produced by local farmers and local small businesses are becoming increasingly vital to both urban and rural areas as a source of employment and quality foods and products. As a result of recent legislation, individuals who meet certain criteria can produce specific types of foods in their homes and sell directly to consumers without being regulated by a local health department. Interested parties observe that the laws regulating the cottage food industry have led to the establishment and growth of numerous small businesses in this state, with very few problems reported. Interested parties contend, however, that restricting the sale of these foods to such an individual's home has created unnecessary barriers and has even led to conflict with zoning authorities in some areas. These parties also observe that some other states allow for the production of more types of foods under similar laws.
C.S.H.B. 970 seeks to address these issues by expanding the types of foods allowed to be produced by a cottage food production operation and the locations at which such an individual can sell the products, establishing additional regulations regarding the sale of cottage food products, and amending current law relating to a local government authority's authority to regulate cottage food production operations.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 970 amends the Health and Safety Code to prohibit a cottage food production operation from selling to customers potentially hazardous food, defined by the bill as a food that requires time and temperature control for safety to limit pathogen growth or toxin production. The bill specifies that the term includes a food that must be held under proper temperature controls, such as refrigeration, to prevent the growth of bacteria that may cause human illness and that a potentially hazardous food may include a food that contains protein and moisture and is neutral or slightly acidic, such as meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish products, pasteurized and unpasteurized milk and dairy products, raw seed sprouts, baked goods that require refrigeration, including cream or custard pies or cakes, and ice products. The bill specifies that the term does not include a food that uses potentially hazardous food as ingredients if the final food product does not require time or temperature control for safety to limit pathogen growth or toxin production.
C.S.H.B. 970 includes in the definition of "cottage food production operation" an individual, operating out of the individual's home, who produces a baked good that is not a potentially hazardous food; candy; coated and uncoated nuts; unroasted nut butters; fruit butters; a fruit pie; dehydrated fruit or vegetables, including dried beans; popcorn and popcorn snacks; cereal, including granola; dry mix; vinegar; pickles; mustard; roasted coffee or dry tea; or a dried herb mix and specifies that the term applies to such an individual who produces an applicable food product at the individual's home. The bill includes in the definition the specification that the individual sells the food products only directly to consumers at the individual's home, a farmers' market, a farm stand, or a municipal, county, or nonprofit fair, festival, or event and delivers products to the consumer at the point of sale or another location designated by the consumer.
C.S.H.B. 970 specifies that the exemption of a cottage food production operation from designation as a food service establishment does not affect the application of certain statutory provisions authorizing the Department of State Health Services or other local health authority to act to prevent an immediate and serious threat to human life or health. The bill prohibits a local government authority from regulating the production of food at a cottage food production operation.
C.S.H.B. 970 requires food sold by a cottage food production operation to be packaged in a manner that prevents product contamination, except that a food item is not required to be packaged if it is too large or bulky for conventional packaging. The bill requires the information required to be included on the label of food items produced by a cottage food production operation to be provided to the consumer on an invoice or receipt if the food item is exempt from packaging requirements. The bill prohibits a cottage food production operation from selling any food items by mail order or at wholesale.
C.S.H.B. 970 requires an individual who operates a cottage food production operation to have successfully completed an accredited basic food safety education or training program for food handlers. The bill prohibits an individual from processing, preparing, packaging, or handling cottage food products unless the individual has completed such a program, is directly supervised by an individual who has completed such a program, or is a member of the household in which the cottage food products are produced. The bill specifies that an individual operating a cottage food production operation is not required to complete the required education or training program before January 1, 2014.
C.S.H.B. 970 amends the Local Government Code to prohibit a municipal zoning ordinance and a county zoning ordinance from prohibiting the use of a home for cottage food production operations. The bill specifies that its provisions do not affect the right of a person to bring a cause of action under other law against an individual for nuisance or another tort arising out of the individual's use of the individual's home for cottage food production operations.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 970 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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