Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2600 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R8301 KKR-D
2	2	By: Rodriguez of Travis H.B. No. 2600
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the regulation of food production and sales operations
8	8	by a home food processor; requiring an occupational permit;
9	9	authorizing a fee and an administrative penalty.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 437.001, Health and Safety Code, is
12	12	amended by adding Subdivision (5-a) to read as follows:
13	13	(5-a) "Home food processor" means an individual,
14	14	operating out of the individual's home, who produces at the
15	15	individual's home:
16	16	(A) any food that a cottage food production
17	17	operation may produce under Subdivision (2-b)(A);
18	18	(B) canned goods that are acidified or low-acid;
19	19	(C) fermented products;
20	20	(D) honey;
21	21	(E) perishable baked goods;
22	22	(F) tamales; and
23	23	(G) any other food not included in this
24	24	subdivision that is not a potentially hazardous food, as defined by
25	25	Section 437.0196.
26	26	SECTION 2. Section 437.002(a), Health and Safety Code, is
27	27	amended to read as follows:
28	28	(a) A county or public health district may enforce state law
29	29	and rules adopted under state law concerning food service
30	30	establishments, retail food stores, mobile food units, home food
31	31	processors, and roadside food vendors.
32	32	SECTION 3. Section 437.009, Health and Safety Code, is
33	33	amended to read as follows:
34	34	Sec. 437.009. INSPECTIONS. (a) Authorized agents or
35	35	employees of the department, a county, or a public health district
36	36	may enter the premises of a food service establishment, retail food
37	37	store, mobile food unit, roadside food vendor, home food processor,
38	38	or temporary food service establishment under the department's,
39	39	county's, or district's jurisdiction during normal operating hours
40	40	to conduct inspections to determine compliance with:
41	41	(1) state law, including a requirement to hold and
42	42	display written authorization under Section 437.021;
43	43	(2) rules adopted under state law; and
44	44	(3) orders adopted by the department, county, or
45	45	district.
46	46	(b) An inspection of a home food processor under Subsection
47	47	(a) is limited to the areas in the individual's home that the
48	48	individual designates for food production and food storage related
49	49	to the home food processing.
50	50	SECTION 4. Chapter 437, Health and Safety Code, is amended
51	51	by adding Section 437.01911 to read as follows:
52	52	Sec. 437.01911. EXEMPTION FOR HOME FOOD PROCESSOR. (a) A
53	53	home food processor is not a food service establishment for
54	54	purposes of this chapter.
55	55	(b) The exemption provided by Subsection (a) does not affect
56	56	the application of Sections 431.045, 431.0495, and 431.247
57	57	authorizing the department or other local health authority to act
58	58	to prevent an immediate and serious threat to human life or health.
59	59	SECTION 5. Chapter 437, Health and Safety Code, is amended
60	60	by adding Sections 437.022, 437.0221, 437.0222, and 437.0223 to
61	61	read as follows:
62	62	Sec. 437.022. HOME FOOD PROCESSOR: PERMIT REQUIRED; FEE;
63	63	SALES. (a) A person may not operate as a home food processor unless
64	64	the person holds a permit issued by the department.
65	65	(b) The department may charge a fee to issue a permit under
66	66	Subsection (a). The amount of the fee may not exceed the amount of
67	67	the fee for obtaining a food manufacturer's license under
68	68	Subchapter J, Chapter 431.
69	69	(c) A home food processor may sell any food described in
70	70	Section 437.001(5-a):
71	71	(1) at any location in this state;
72	72	(2) if both the processor and the consumer are located
73	73	in this state:
74	74	(A) through the Internet; or
75	75	(B) by mail order; and
76	76	(3) at wholesale.
77	77	Sec. 437.0221. HOME FOOD PROCESSOR: PACKAGING AND LABELING
78	78	REQUIREMENTS. (a) Food described by Section 437.001(5-a) that is
79	79	sold by a home food processor must be packaged in a manner that
80	80	prevents product contamination.
81	81	(b) Food described by Section 437.001(5-a) that is sold by a
82	82	home food processor must be affixed with a label that includes:
83	83	(1) the name and address of the home food processor;
84	84	(2) a list of the ingredients contained in the food
85	85	item; and
86	86	(3) the statement "processed in a home-processing
87	87	facility."
88	88	Sec. 437.0222. HOME FOOD PROCESSOR: PRODUCTION
89	89	REQUIREMENTS. (a) A home food processor, in conducting a
90	90	processing operation, shall comply with the following:
91	91	(1) a refrigerator or freezer used for food storage
92	92	for the operation:
93	93	(A) may not be the same refrigerator or freezer
94	94	as used for personal use; and
95	95	(B) must have an accurate thermometer;
96	96	(2) a potentially hazardous food allowed under Section
97	97	437.001(5-a) that is kept after production must be:
98	98	(A) refrigerated at a temperature at or below 41
99	99	degrees Fahrenheit; or
100	100	(B) heated to a temperature at or above 135
101	101	degrees Fahrenheit; and
102	102	(3) each ingredient and final product for the
103	103	operation must be stored in an area that:
104	104	(A) is separate from an area used for personal
105	105	use unless the ingredient or final product is in an enclosed
106	106	container;
107	107	(B) is kept clean; and
108	108	(C) protects food from unsanitary conditions and
109	109	contamination.
110	110	(b) A home food processor shall ensure the processor's
111	111	operation meets the following requirements:
112	112	(1) each wall, ceiling, and floor of the operation
113	113	area must be in good repair, easily cleanable, and kept clean;
114	114	(2) each utensil, item of equipment, and supply used
115	115	in the operation must be kept clean;
116	116	(3) each food contact surface must be easy to clean,
117	117	smooth, and nonabsorbent and may not have cracks or open seams;
118	118	(4) plumbing in the operation area must provide hot
119	119	and cold potable water that is under pressure;
120	120	(5) sewage disposal for the operation must be through
121	121	an adequate sewer system or other adequate means;
122	122	(6) toilet facilities:
123	123	(A) may not open directly into the food
124	124	production area; and
125	125	(B) may open into a hallway that leads to the food
126	126	production area only if the toilet facility is equipped with a
127	127	self-closing door;
128	128	(7) water used for food production that is not from a
129	129	public water system must be annually sampled and tested for
130	130	coliform and any required records of the water testing must be
131	131	maintained; and
132	132	(8) live animals, including pets, must be kept out of
133	133	any operation and storage area used during food handling,
134	134	production, or storage activities.
135	135	(c) A home food processor or an individual who processes,
136	136	prepares, packages, or handles food for a home food processor:
137	137	(1) shall successfully complete a basic food safety
138	138	education or training program for food handlers accredited under
139	139	Subchapter D, Chapter 438; and
140	140	(2) may not process, prepare, package, or handle home
141	141	food products unless the home food processor or the individual:
142	142	(A) is free from contagious or communicable
143	143	diseases, sores, or infected wounds; and
144	144	(B) wears a hair restraint, a beard restraint, if
145	145	applicable, and clothing that covers body hair that are designed
146	146	and worn to effectively keep hair from contacting exposed food.
147	147	(d) A home food processor producing a fermented product or a
148	148	canned good that is acidified or low-acid shall:
149	149	(1) before making the product or good available for
150	150	the first sale, submit to the department the recipe used to produce
151	151	the product or good;
152	152	(2) before making the product or good available for
153	153	the first sale, submit to a commercial laboratory approved for
154	154	testing by the department a sample of the product or good produced
155	155	according to the submitted recipe;
156	156	(3) keep a record of the testing results of a product
157	157	or good submitted under Subdivision (2);
158	158	(4) keep a record of the pH balance of each batch of
159	159	the product or good that is produced; and
160	160	(5) have a product code plan that identifies:
161	161	(A) the product or good;
162	162	(B) the date and year the product or good was
163	163	packaged; and
164	164	(C) the batch number.
165	165	(e) A recipe submitted to the department under Subsection
166	166	(d) is a trade secret for purposes of Section 552.110, Government
167	167	Code, and is exempt from disclosure under Chapter 552, Government
168	168	Code.
169	169	Sec. 437.0223. HOME FOOD PROCESSOR: RECORDS. (a) A home
170	170	food processor shall maintain records that include each food sold
171	171	by the home food processor and the location where the food was sold.
172	172	This subsection does not require the processor to include in the
173	173	records the name of each person who purchased the food.
174	174	(b) A home food processor who produces a potentially
175	175	hazardous good must maintain a record of the temperatures and times
176	176	at which the good was cooked and stored.
177	177	SECTION 6. (a) Not later than December 1, 2015, the
178	178	executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
179	179	shall adopt rules to implement Sections 437.022 through 437.0223,
180	180	Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act.
181	181	(b) The rules adopted under Subsection (a) may not include
182	182	requirements or restrictions other than those specified in Sections
183	183	437.022 through 437.0223, Health and Safety Code, as added by this
184	184	Act.
185	185	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
186	186	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
187	187	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
188	188	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
189	189	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.