Editor’s note: Thirty years ago, hundreds of reporters were assigned to cover the state legislature, and competing news services were watching everything. Today’s entertainment media sees all of this as an unnecessary expense, and state law coverage has been reduced to zero.
That makes it a real challenge for those of us trying to keep up with food safety in the fifty states. Because 2,700 state and local health departments form the basis for foodborne illness surveillance in the county, it is critical to be aware of state lawmakers.
Food safety news readers are fortunate that technology and Doug Farquhar, director of government affairs for the National Environmental Health Association, keep us informed of state actions.
His 2024 report continues the series of analyzes he has made Food safety news readers since the tracking system was put together. The following Farquhar report provides a first full look at the legislative actions of the 50 state legislatures in 2024. Here is that report:
For the 2024 state legislative sessions, which began in January 2024, state lawmakers introduced 250 bills related to food safety. Of these bills, 41 were passed and signed into law, while another 11 were considered for signature by the state’s governor. Furthermore, the governors of the states have vetoed four bills.
Retail Food Safety Bills
Of the 45 retail food safety bills, 13 were passed into law in California (with five other bills eligible for the governor’s signature), Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, New York, Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia.
In Arizona, the Legislature passed H 2328, which allowed a municipality to prohibit a mobile food unit from operating in a residential area or near a public transportation center. However, the state governor vetoed this piece of legislation.
The California Legislature has passed several bills addressing retail food safety, but so far only two have been signed by the governor and incorporated into a chapter: A 2721 and A 375. California A 2721 addresses recycling and processing of inedible kitchen grease and requires renderers to be licensed and pay fees. The California Fair Food Delivery Act (A 375) requires that the delivery person’s first name and photo be provided for any food delivery service.
The others not yet chaptered but passed by the California Legislature include:
• California S 1490 allows a food facility to request removal from any food delivery platform.
• California A 2786 addresses certified mobile farmers markets and requires them to participate in the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
• California A 1975 makes medically supportive foods under the Medi-Cal program.
• California A 2316 prohibits a school district or charter school from offering school breakfasts or lunches that contain certain substances, including food colorings such as red 40 or yellow 5. All of these bills are awaiting the governor’s signature.
The other bills passed include:
• In Colorado, the Legislature enacted H 1322, which directs the Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing to conduct a feasibility study to examine whether federal authorization could be granted to provide nutrition and housing services that address health-related social needs of Medicaid and to integrate health-related needs. social needs services (HRSN) with existing housing and nutrition services.
• Florida S 676 addresses food delivery and prohibits food delivery platforms from accepting or arranging for food delivery without the establishment’s consent.
• Indiana H 1258 requires local health departments to conduct inspections and issue permits for mobile grocery stores.
• Maryland S 723 requires baby food manufacturers to conduct tests for toxic heavy metals.
• New York S 1195 requires the Department of Agriculture and Markets to facilitate an educational program on the standards that grocery stores must meet and how consumers can report these stores.
New York S 509 requires Internet-based food delivery services to post their web links to state health food service data.
• Oklahoma H 3995 requires mobile food establishments to have fire extinguishers, and H 4060 requires that donated and wild game food provided in good faith be exempt from criminal or civil liability.
• Utah S 73 limits state regulation of local foods and requires the state not to control the distribution or retail price of local foods in response to an emergency. The state also passed H 291, which clarifies the appointments and reporting provisions for the Local Food Advisory Council.
• Virginia S 283 requires the state superintendent of education to investigate and recommend providing free school meals to students across the state, including options to reduce or eliminate student meal debt.
Food freedom and cottage food
Of the fifty bills on so-called food freedom or cottage food, twelve were passed by the legislature and turned into law. Food freedom bills were passed in Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. The bills passed include:
• Alaska H 251 exempts certain foods and beverages prepared in an uninspected kitchen from state labeling, licensing, packaging, licensing and inspection requirements. The law also allows the acquisition of meat using an ownership share.
• The Arizona Legislature passed two cottage food bills: H 2042 and H 2079. H 2042 requires cottage food products to be packaged at home with a label containing the preparer’s registration number and a list of ingredients. H 2079 prohibits a county from requiring a food handler to be certified or undergo training for individuals who volunteer to handle food less than three times per year, under the supervision of a certified food handler.
• Hawaii H 2144 expands the possibilities of home-cooked foods by allowing direct sales of such foods to consumers over the telephone or the Internet.
• Illinois S 2617 states that a cottage food business may not sell certain food products or processed foods that contain certain hazardous items. The Director of Agriculture may be exempt from inspecting the slaughter of animals at certain processors if they are labeled and not sold to consumers
• Iowa H 2257 exempts certain establishments engaged in the slaughter and preparation of poultry products from inspections.
• New Hampshire H 1565 removed processed, acidified foods from the definition of potentially hazardous foods.
• New York S 1979 requires the state to study the economic impact of creating kitchen incubators. This bill has passed the Legislature but requires the Governor’s signature to go into effect.
• Oklahoma passed H 2975, which would require the registration numbers of homemade food manufacturers for labeling purposes.
• Utah’s S 73 restricts state regulation of local foods and limits regulatory authority.
• Vermont H 603 established exemptions for inspections of the slaughter of poultry sold at the producer’s premises. The law also rescinded the requirement that uninspected poultry only be sold whole on the farm, at a farmers market or to a dine-in restaurant.
• Virginia H 759 requires a specified pH value for pickles and acidified vegetable products when sold to consumers for consumption and not for resale.
In Wyoming, the governor vetoed the PRIME Act (S 103), which provided for the sale of homemade meat products.
Manufactured foods and labelling
A total of 27 bills related to manufactured food and its labeling were introduced, including six bills in Arizona, California, Maryland and New York. These invoices include:
• Arizona H 2042 addresses cottage food labeling (see above for details).
• California A 660 prohibits the sale of food for human consumption after the expiration date.
• California A 1830 focuses on wet corn masa. This law requires information about folic acid to be included on the nutrition label. This bill awaits the Governor’s signature.
• In Maryland, the legislature passed H 97 and S 723, which require baby food to be tested for toxic heavy metals before packaging and that information about toxic heavy metals be included on the label.
• New York S 1195 requires the Department of Agriculture and Markets to maintain a graduated inspection database on its website.
Meat and dairy
There were 79 bills related to meat and dairy. Most dairy bills were for the sale of raw milk. Meat bills focused on wild game, cell-based meat, cultured meat, shellfish, or meat inspections or involved regulatory exemptions (discussed above under the Food Freedom section). Of these 79 bills, 17 have been adopted, including:
• Alabama S 23 prohibits the production, sale or distribution of meat from cultured animal cells.
• Delaware S 273 legalizes the sale and distribution of raw milk and its products directly to consumers for human consumption.
• Iowa S 2391 bans the misbranding of cultured meat food products.
• Iowa S 2601 exempts from inspection of slaughtered animals and meat or meat food products that are custom prepared and not intended for sale.
• Louisiana H 429 bans the sale of imported seafood to public school students.
• Louisiana H 467 provides for the sale of raw milk. It also authorizes the Commissioner of Agriculture to suspend the sale, distribution or movement of raw milk.
• The Louisiana Legislature passed S 40, S 62, and S 166, all related to seafood. S 40 updates the membership requirements of the Seafood Safety Task Force. S 62 provides funding to the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism for the sampling, testing and monitoring of raw seafood products of foreign origin imported and stored in the state. S 166 bans misleading marketing of seafood products, provides requirements for food businesses and provides oversight to the Department of Health.
• Louisiana S114 addresses meat and poultry inspection and allows the agriculture commissioner to conduct voluntary state inspections of specific slaughterhouses.
• In New Mexico, the Livestock Board will adopt rules (S 37) regarding a comprehensive meat inspection program for inspecting, processing, and selling meat and poultry products.
• Utah H 375 amends provisions relating to the Domesticated Elk Act and establishes requirements for importing domesticated elk from east of the 100th meridian.
• Virginia H 1460 states that a person may not label any product as Virginia Verified Meat unless the product meets the definition of the state’s verified meat program.
• West Virginia H 4911 allows intrastate sales of raw milk and imposes labeling requirements.
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