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  • From: Jack Moffitt <jackmoffitt AT gmail.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Market-farming] food safety enhancement act (bill analysis)
  • Date: Sun, 2 Aug 2009 15:55:40 -0500

Chris I understand the skepticism at this point, based on what seems like a solid year of scares. Here is my stab at analyzing this:

It is a disjointed and double negative laden law. You have to follow the bouncing ball:
#1     All "facilities" are required to register with FDA
#2    ‘facility’ means any establishment that holds food (ergo every farm)
#3    "Farm" includes  an operation that sells food directly to consumers if the annual monetary value of sales of the food products from the farm or by an agent of the farm to consumers exceeds the annual monetary value of sales of the food products to all other buyers.
#4     You must conclude that a farm who sells less than the majority of their output directly to consumers is not included in the word "farm", and therefore is subject to registering at $500 annually and complying with whatever FDA regs may come down the pike.

I cut and pasted the definition sections below for your convenience. I too was a little put off by the cries of "wolf" earlier in this legislative history, and I let my guard down. That was my mistake, but I feel there was some cunning there when I read the history of bill changes, bill sponsors and committee tactics. One of my more vigilant friends is having a great "I told you so" moment.

My partner and I are discussing stopping all non-consumer sales, i.e. notify our non-consumer customers that we can't sell unless they are the end consumer, but we face the probability that our small market will fail, since by the clear terms of what a registering "facility" is, our baked goods vendors, fruit bowl vendors, specialty jelly/salsa vendors etc. may bow out of the market. That is speculation on our part, as maybe they will pony up the $500 bucks, or alternatively maybe the "critical mass" number of vendors remaining will be sufficient.

I appreciate your concern that this is another internet scare, and I post this in hopes that you will point out that I am missing something and full of baloney. Tell me it isn't so,  

As I stated in my "Stay the hell out of my food" post (which by the way has made me some enemies), it is not the direct outlawing of my operation or the direct levying of a $500 per year tax that is the problem. The problem is the additional obstacles and layers of bureaucracy this bill introduces. Market farming is hard work, that alone scares off would be producers. The market structure probably dissuades some. This proposed law will discourage more. At some point will we have any vendors?

Most importantly is the question "Why?"   There have been no food scares in my area that haven't been traced back, and in fact traced back to the very mega-firms this law favors. I would appreciate any statistics on food sickness/deaths attributable to small producers.

This is cut and paste from GovTrack.US on the farm provisions:

(b) Annual Registration-

DEFINITION OF FACILITY:   
‘(1)(A) The term ‘facility’ means any factory, warehouse, or establishment (including a factory, warehouse, or establishment of an importer) that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds food.

‘(B) Such term does not include farms


‘(D)(i) The term ‘farm’ means an operation in one general physical location devoted to the growing and harvesting of crops, the raising of animals (including seafood), or both.

‘(ii) Such term includes--

‘(I) such an operation that packs or holds food, provided that all food used in such activities is grown, raised, or consumed on such farm or another farm under the same ownership;

‘(II) such an operation that manufactures or processes food, provided that all food used in such activities is consumed on such farm or another farm under the same ownership;

‘(III) such an operation that sells food directly to consumers if the annual monetary value of sales of the food products from the farm or by an agent of the farm to consumers exceeds the annual monetary value of sales of the food products to all other buyers;

‘(IV) such an operation that manufactures grains or other feed stuffs that are grown and harvested on such farm or another farm under the same ownership and are distributed directly to 1 or more farms for consumption as food by humans or animals on such farm; and

‘(V) a fishery, including a wild fishery, an aquaculture operation or bed, a fresh water fishery, and a saltwater fishery.



This is cut and paste from the "retail food establishment": Note that the exemption for  "retail food establishment" includes stores. Does it therefore exclude non-stores? i.e. farmer market vendors? More importantly, will your market manager agree that it does?


‘(C)(i) The term ‘retail food establishment’ means an establishment that, as its primary function, sells food products (including those food products that it manufactures, processes, packs, or holds) directly to consumers (including by Internet or mail order).

‘(ii) Such term includes--

‘(I) grocery stores;

‘(II) convenience stores;

‘(III) vending machine locations; and

‘(IV) stores that sell bagged feed, pet food, and feed ingredients or additives over-the-counter directly to consumers and final purchasers for their own personal animals.

‘(iii) A retail food establishment’s primary function is to sell food directly to consumers if the annual monetary value of sales of food products directly to consumers exceeds the annual monetary value of sales of food products to all other buyers.




  • [Market-farming] food safety enhancement act (bill analysis), Jack Moffitt, 08/02/2009

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