HB 402

Cottage food laws; sale of certain food over phone and internet; home food processing operation inspection and permit requirements. Expands the exemption from state inspection requirements for private homes where the resident processes and prepares certain food products, including pickles and other acidified vegetables, to allow for such person to sell such products in person at any location, through the internet, or by telephone and deliver such products in person, through an agency, or by mail to an individual for his own consumption or for resale or consignment, subject to certain restrictions. Current law only allows for the sale to take place in person at the private home, a temporary event, or a farmer's market and restricts the sale of such products for resale or consignment. The bill also removes the gross sales annual revenue cap for the sale of pickles and other acidified vegetables that have an equilibrium pH value of 4.6 or lower and are processed and prepared in a private home without an inspection. Finally, the bill streamlines the permitting and inspection requirements for home food processing operators, defined in the bill, to allow such operators to produce, store, and sell food without being required to (i) submit certain documents such as a preoperational plan review, (ii) comply with commercial-grade standards beyond what is imposed on a private residence, or (iii) upgrade or install commercial-grade appliances. The bill preserves the authority of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services to conduct inspections to investigate consumer complaints or verify that the home food processing operator has complied with the provisions of the bill after a permit has been issued.