Bill Text: TX HB2600 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Relating to the regulation of food production and sales operations by a home food processor; requiring an occupational permit; authorizing a fee and an administrative penalty.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-16 - Referred to Public Health [HB2600 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-HB2600-Introduced.html
  84R8301 KKR-D
 
  By: Rodriguez of Travis H.B. No. 2600
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the regulation of food production and sales operations
  by a home food processor; requiring an occupational permit;
  authorizing a fee and an administrative penalty.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 437.001, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by adding Subdivision (5-a) to read as follows:
               (5-a) "Home food processor" means an individual,
  operating out of the individual's home, who produces at the
  individual's home:
                     (A)  any food that a cottage food production
  operation may produce under Subdivision (2-b)(A);
                     (B)  canned goods that are acidified or low-acid;
                     (C)  fermented products;
                     (D)  honey;
                     (E)  perishable baked goods;
                     (F)  tamales; and
                     (G)  any other food not included in this
  subdivision that is not a potentially hazardous food, as defined by
  Section 437.0196.
         SECTION 2.  Section 437.002(a), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A county or public health district may enforce state law
  and rules adopted under state law concerning food service
  establishments, retail food stores, mobile food units, home food
  processors, and roadside food vendors.
         SECTION 3.  Section 437.009, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 437.009.  INSPECTIONS. (a) Authorized agents or
  employees of the department, a county, or a public health district
  may enter the premises of a food service establishment, retail food
  store, mobile food unit, roadside food vendor, home food processor,
  or temporary food service establishment under the department's,
  county's, or district's jurisdiction during normal operating hours
  to conduct inspections to determine compliance with:
               (1)  state law, including a requirement to hold and
  display written authorization under Section 437.021;
               (2)  rules adopted under state law; and
               (3)  orders adopted by the department, county, or
  district.
         (b)  An inspection of a home food processor under Subsection
  (a) is limited to the areas in the individual's home that the
  individual designates for food production and food storage related
  to the home food processing.
         SECTION 4.  Chapter 437, Health and Safety Code, is amended
  by adding Section 437.01911 to read as follows:
         Sec. 437.01911.  EXEMPTION FOR HOME FOOD PROCESSOR. (a) A
  home food processor is not a food service establishment for
  purposes of this chapter.
         (b)  The exemption provided by Subsection (a) does not affect
  the application of Sections 431.045, 431.0495, and 431.247
  authorizing the department or other local health authority to act
  to prevent an immediate and serious threat to human life or health.
         SECTION 5.  Chapter 437, Health and Safety Code, is amended
  by adding Sections 437.022, 437.0221, 437.0222, and 437.0223 to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 437.022.  HOME FOOD PROCESSOR: PERMIT REQUIRED; FEE;
  SALES. (a)  A person may not operate as a home food processor unless
  the person holds a permit issued by the department.
         (b)  The department may charge a fee to issue a permit under
  Subsection (a).  The amount of the fee may not exceed the amount of
  the fee for obtaining a food manufacturer's license under
  Subchapter J, Chapter 431.
         (c)  A home food processor may sell any food described in
  Section 437.001(5-a):
               (1)  at any location in this state;
               (2)  if both the processor and the consumer are located
  in this state:
                     (A)  through the Internet; or
                     (B)  by mail order; and
               (3)  at wholesale.
         Sec. 437.0221.  HOME FOOD PROCESSOR: PACKAGING AND LABELING
  REQUIREMENTS.  (a)  Food described by Section 437.001(5-a) that is
  sold by a home food processor must be packaged in a manner that
  prevents product contamination.
         (b)  Food described by Section 437.001(5-a) that is sold by a
  home food processor must be affixed with a label that includes:
               (1)  the name and address of the home food processor;
               (2)  a list of the ingredients contained in the food
  item; and
               (3)  the statement "processed in a home-processing
  facility."
         Sec. 437.0222.  HOME FOOD PROCESSOR: PRODUCTION
  REQUIREMENTS.  (a)  A home food processor, in conducting a
  processing operation, shall comply with the following:
               (1)  a refrigerator or freezer used for food storage
  for the operation:
                     (A)  may not be the same refrigerator or freezer
  as used for personal use; and
                     (B)  must have an accurate thermometer;
               (2)  a potentially hazardous food allowed under Section
  437.001(5-a) that is kept after production must be:
                     (A)  refrigerated at a temperature at or below 41
  degrees Fahrenheit; or
                     (B)  heated to a temperature at or above 135
  degrees Fahrenheit; and
               (3)  each ingredient and final product for the
  operation must be stored in an area that:
                     (A)  is separate from an area used for personal
  use unless the ingredient or final product is in an enclosed
  container;
                     (B)  is kept clean; and
                     (C)  protects food from unsanitary conditions and
  contamination.
         (b)  A home food processor shall ensure the processor's
  operation meets the following requirements:
               (1)  each wall, ceiling, and floor of the operation
  area must be in good repair, easily cleanable, and kept clean;
               (2)  each utensil, item of equipment, and supply used
  in the operation must be kept clean;
               (3)  each food contact surface must be easy to clean,
  smooth, and nonabsorbent and may not have cracks or open seams;
               (4)  plumbing in the operation area must provide hot
  and cold potable water that is under pressure;
               (5)  sewage disposal for the operation must be through
  an adequate sewer system or other adequate means;
               (6)  toilet facilities:
                     (A)  may not open directly into the food
  production area; and
                     (B)  may open into a hallway that leads to the food
  production area only if the toilet facility is equipped with a
  self-closing door;
               (7)  water used for food production that is not from a
  public water system must be annually sampled and tested for
  coliform and any required records of the water testing must be
  maintained; and
               (8)  live animals, including pets, must be kept out of
  any operation and storage area used during food handling,
  production, or storage activities.
         (c)  A home food processor or an individual who processes,
  prepares, packages, or handles food for a home food processor:
               (1)  shall successfully complete a basic food safety
  education or training program for food handlers accredited under
  Subchapter D, Chapter 438; and
               (2)  may not process, prepare, package, or handle home
  food products unless the home food processor or the individual:
                     (A)  is free from contagious or communicable
  diseases, sores, or infected wounds; and
                     (B)  wears a hair restraint, a beard restraint, if
  applicable, and clothing that covers body hair that are designed
  and worn to effectively keep hair from contacting exposed food.
         (d)  A home food processor producing a fermented product or a
  canned good that is acidified or low-acid shall:
               (1)  before making the product or good available for
  the first sale, submit to the department the recipe used to produce
  the product or good;
               (2)  before making the product or good available for
  the first sale, submit to a commercial laboratory approved for
  testing by the department a sample of the product or good produced
  according to the submitted recipe;
               (3)  keep a record of the testing results of a product
  or good submitted under Subdivision (2);
               (4)  keep a record of the pH balance of each batch of
  the product or good that is produced; and
               (5)  have a product code plan that identifies:
                     (A)  the product or good;
                     (B)  the date and year the product or good was
  packaged; and
                     (C)  the batch number.
         (e)  A recipe submitted to the department under Subsection
  (d) is a trade secret for purposes of Section 552.110, Government
  Code, and is exempt from disclosure under Chapter 552, Government
  Code.
         Sec. 437.0223.  HOME FOOD PROCESSOR:  RECORDS.  (a)  A home
  food processor shall maintain records that include each food sold
  by the home food processor and the location where the food was sold.
  This subsection does not require the processor to include in the
  records the name of each person who purchased the food.
         (b)  A home food processor who produces a potentially
  hazardous good must maintain a record of the temperatures and times
  at which the good was cooked and stored.
         SECTION 6.  (a)  Not later than December 1, 2015, the
  executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
  shall adopt rules to implement Sections 437.022 through 437.0223,
  Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act.
         (b)  The rules adopted under Subsection (a) may not include
  requirements or restrictions other than those specified in Sections
  437.022 through 437.0223, Health and Safety Code, as added by this
  Act.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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