Vermont H 401: An act relating to the Vermont National Guard

Bill Text

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VT LEG #384127 v.1
No. 42. An act relating to exemptions for food manufacturing
establishments.
(H.401)
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec. 1. LEGISLATIVE INTENT
It is the intent of the General Assembly that:
(1) Vermont enhance its food resiliency through increased supply and
distribution of locally produced food products;
(2) Vermonters have more access to the local food marketplace as both
producers and consumers;
(3) local food producers are able to meet the demand for Vermont-made
food products from visitors to the State;
(4) small-scale food producers, new business start-ups, and sole
proprietors benefit from raising the limit of the existing licensing exemption
for at-home bakery products to adjust for inflationary cost changes occurring
since the initial statutory enactment; and
(5) supply-chain costs and inflationary considerations be addressed to
bring risk management thresholds more in line with the economic conditions at
the time of initial statutory enactment.
Sec. 2. 18 V.S.A. § 4301 is amended to read:
§ 4301. DEFINITIONS
(a) As used in this chapter:
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(4) “Cottage food operation” means a food manufacturing establishment
where a cottage food product is produced.
(5) “Cottage food operator” means any person who produces or
packages cottage food products solely in the home kitchen of the person’s
private residential dwelling or a kitchen on the person’s personal property.
(6) “Cottage food product” means food sold by a cottage food operator
that does not require refrigeration or time or temperature control for safety,
such as:
(A) nonpotentially hazardous baked goods;
(B) candy;
(C) jams and jellies;
(D) dry herbs;
(E) trail mix;
(F) granola;
(G) cereal;
(H) mixed nuts;
(I) flavored vinegar;
(J) popcorn;
(K) coffee beans;

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(L) dry tea;
(M) home-canned pickles, vegetables, or fruits having an equilibrium
pH value of 4.6 or lower or a water activity value of 0.85 or less that are made
using recipes:
(i) approved by the National Center for Home Food Preservation;
or
(ii) reviewed by a food processing authority for safety; and
(N) any other good defined by the Commissioner in rule or policy.
(7) “Department” means the Department of Health.
(5)(8) “Establishment” means food manufacturing establishments, food
service establishments, lodging establishments, children’s camps, seafood
vending facilities, and shellfish reshippers and repackers.
(6)(9) “Food” means articles of food, drink, confectionery, or condiment
for human consumption, whether simple, mixed, or compound, and all
substances and ingredients used in the preparation thereof.
(7)(10) “Food manufacturing establishment” or “food processor” means
all buildings, rooms, basements, cellars, lofts, or other premises or part thereof
used, occupied, or maintained for the purpose of manufacturing, preparing,
packing, canning, bottling, keeping, storing, handling, serving, or distributing
food for sale. A food manufacturing establishment shall include includes food
processors, bakeries, cottage food operations, distributers, and warehouses. A
food manufacturing establishment shall does not include a place where only

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VT LEG #384127 v.1
maple syrup or maple products, as defined in 6 V.S.A. § 481, are prepared for
human consumption.
(8)(11) “Food service establishment” means entities that prepare, serve,
and sell food to the public, including restaurants, temporary food vendors,
caterers, mobile food units, and limited operations as defined in rule.
(9)(12) “Lodging establishment” means a place where overnight
accommodations are regularly provided to the transient, traveling, or
vacationing public, including hotels, motels, inns, and bed and breakfasts.
“Lodging establishment” shall does not include short-term rentals.
(10)(13) “Salvage food” means any food product from which the label
on the packaging has been lost or destroyed or that has been subjected to
possible damage as the result of an accident, fire, flood, or other cause that
prevents the product from meeting the specifications of the manufacturer or the
packer but is otherwise suitable for human consumption.
(11)(14) “Salvage food facility” means any food vendor for which
salvage food comprises 50 percent or more of gross sales.
(12)(15) “Seafood vending facility” means a store, motor vehicle, retail
stand, or similar place from which a person sells seafood for human
consumption.
(13)(16) “Shellfish reshipper and repacker” means an establishment
engaging in interstate commerce of molluskan shellfish.

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(14)(17) “Short-term rental” means a furnished house, condominium, or
other dwelling room or self-contained dwelling unit rented to the transient,
traveling, or vacationing public for a period of fewer than 30 consecutive days
and for more than 14 days per calendar year.
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