CASPER, Wyo. — House Bill 84 would modify aspects of the Wyoming Food Freedom Act.
One central change considered under the bill would allow homemade food products to be sold by third party vendors. The existing Wyoming Food Freedom Act only allows producers to sell products directly to consumers themselves and allows such sales to occur at farmers markets, farms, ranches, producer’s homes or offices.
In addition to allowing third parties to sell homemade food products, the proposed legislation would allow “non-potentially hazardous” food and drink items at retail locations.
The proposed bill would also define “potentially hazardous” versus “non-potentially hazardous” food items. The original version of the bill defined those as follows:
- Non‑potentially hazardous food: food that doesn’t require time or temperature control to ensure safety, including jams, uncut fruits and vegetables, pickled vegetables, hard candies, fudge, nut mixes, granola, dry soup mixes, roasted coffee beans, dry pasta, popcorn and baked goods that do not include dairy or meat frosting or filling or other potentially hazardous frosting or filling
- Potentially hazardous food: food requiring time or temperature control for safety including foods requiring refrigeration, dairy products, quiches, pizzas, frozen doughs, meat and cooked vegetables and beans
Several amendments to the original version of the bill have been adopted by the Wyoming House of Representatives. A House Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Committee amendment removed soup mixes and pasta from the list of non-hazardous items. The amendment also specifically excludes meat based soup mixes and coffee beans from that list.
The original version of the bill would have allowed grocery stores to sell homemade food items, but the above-mentioned amendment removed that portion of the bill.
The bill would require third party vendors to “inform the end consumer that the homemade food is not certified, labeled, licensed, packaged, regulated or inspected.”
An amendment from House District 05 Representative Shelly Duncan was adopted on Monday stipulating that homemade food “shall not be displayed or offered for sale on the same shelf or display as food produced in a licensed establishment and shall be clearly and prominently labeled with ‘this food was made in a home kitchen, is not regulated or inspected and may contain allergens.'”
House District 16 Representative Mike Yin offered an amendment on Tuesday changing the definition of homemade food producer. He said that the House had heard arguments in favor of the bill that it was intended to protect people’s ability to sell food made in “grandma’s kitchen.”
His amendment defines “producer” as “any person who grows, harvests, prepares or processes any food or drink products on the person’s owned or leased property, does not produce more than two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) individual food or drink products annually and does not exceed five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) in gross revenue annually.”
This amendment was adopted by the House, though they killed one additional amendment.
House District 07 Representative Sue Wilson proposed that amendment which would have removed jams and pickled vegetables from the list of non-hazardous foods.
She said she was concerned about the risk of botulism.
“I voted for all the food freedom bills,” she said. “I think when we go to the farmers market it is a wonderful experience. But I think when we go buy things in a building….we have a little different of an expectation of how safe the food is.”
“We had a lot of concern expressed about grandma’s carrots. To kill botulism, you have to heat the water above 240 degrees. I appreciate [that botulism] is not very common [but if left] untreated botulism can cause death.”
House District 01 Representative Tyler Lindholm explained his opposition to this amendment.
“It is removing what is happening right now at our little farmers markets,” he said, pointing to the sale of jams and pickled vegetables. “This amendment would remove their ability to do that.”
“It is just not dangerous.”
Duncan agreed.
“It’s actually jams and pickled vegetables that are the least harm in these products,” she said. “They are mostly high in acidic values so there are very few times when there is some issue [that could lead to botulism].”
House District 31 Representative Scott Clem acknowledged that there may be a risk in buying food at farmers markets, but said that consumers understand this.
“It is one of those things that is kind of buyer beware,” he said.
Wilson said her amendment would apply to products sold at retail locations and not at farmers markets.
“I understand buyer beware at the farmers market….but not at a store,” she said. “I just have to say, libertarian philosophy will not protect you from botulism.”
While the House defeated Wilson’s amendment, they passed the bill on second reading on Tuesday. If they pass the bill on one further reading, it would move to the Senate for consideration.
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This article originally appeared on Oil City News. Used with permission.
