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A208, R236, S506
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Kimbrell, Rice, Garrett, Talley, M. Johnson, Fanning, Corbin, Alexander and Gustafson
Document Path: l:\s-res\jk\004cott.kmm.jk.docx
Introduced in the Senate on January 28, 2021
Introduced in the House on March 11, 2021
Last Amended on May 12, 2022
Passed by the General Assembly on May 12, 2022
Governor's Action: May 23, 2022, Signed
Summary: Home-based food products
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/28/2021 Senate Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 6)
1/28/2021 Senate Referred to Committee on Medical Affairs
(Senate Journal-page 6)
2/3/2021 Senate Recalled from Committee on Medical Affairs
(Senate Journal-page 29)
2/3/2021 Senate Committed to Committee on Agriculture and Natural
Resources (Senate Journal-page 29)
3/2/2021 Senate Committee report: Favorable with amendment Agriculture
and Natural Resources (Senate Journal-page 14)
3/3/2021 Scrivener's error corrected
3/10/2021 Senate Committee Amendment Adopted (Senate Journal-page 18)
3/10/2021 Senate Amended (Senate Journal-page 18)
3/10/2021 Senate Read second time (Senate Journal-page 18)
3/10/2021 Senate Roll call Ayes-40 Nays-0 (Senate Journal-page 18)
3/11/2021 Senate Read third time and sent to House
(Senate Journal-page 11)
3/11/2021 Scrivener's error corrected
3/11/2021 House Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 46)
3/11/2021 House Referred to Committee on Medical, Military, Public and
Municipal Affairs (House Journal-page 46)
4/21/2022 House Committee report: Favorable with amendment Medical,
Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
(House Journal-page 82)
4/25/2022 Scrivener's error corrected
4/26/2022 House Amended (House Journal-page 21)
4/26/2022 House Read second time (House Journal-page 21)
4/26/2022 House Roll call Yeas-109 Nays-0 (House Journal-page 22)
4/27/2022 House Read third time and returned to Senate with amendments
(House Journal-page 28)
5/3/2022 Senate Non-concurrence in House amendment
(Senate Journal-page 66)
5/3/2022 Senate Roll call Ayes-0 Nays-40 (Senate Journal-page 66)
5/4/2022 House Conference committee appointed Matthews, Jones, McGarry
(House Journal-page 3)
5/4/2022 Senate Conference committee appointed Climer, Fanning,
Kimbrell (Senate Journal-page 17)
5/12/2022 House Conference report received and adopted
5/12/2022 House Roll call Yeas-100 Nays-0
5/12/2022 Senate Conference report received and adopted
(Senate Journal-page 97)
5/12/2022 Senate Roll call Ayes-42 Nays-0 (Senate Journal-page 97)
5/12/2022 Senate Ordered enrolled for ratification
(Senate Journal-page 102)
5/18/2022 Ratified R 236
5/23/2022 Signed By Governor
6/1/2022 Effective date 05/23/22
6/1/2022 Act No. 208
View the latest legislative information at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
1/28/2021
3/2/2021
3/3/2021
3/10/2021
3/11/2021
4/21/2022
4/25/2022
4/26/2022
5/12/2022
(A208, R236, S506)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 44-1-143, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO REQUIREMENTS FOR HOME-BASED FOOD PRODUCTION OPERATIONS, SO AS TO EXPAND THE TYPES OF NONPOTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS FOODS THAT MAY BE SOLD TO INCLUDE ALL NONPOTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS FOODS, TO ALLOW FOR DIRECT SALES TO RETAIL STORES, TO ALLOW FOR ONLINE AND MAIL ORDER DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER SALES, AND TO ALLOW HOME-BASED FOOD PRODUCTION OPERATORS TO PROVIDE ON THEIR LABELS AN IDENTIFICATION NUMBER PROVIDED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL, AT THE OPERATOR'S REQUEST, IN LIEU OF THEIR ADDRESSES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Home-based food production
SECTION 1. Section 44-1-143 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 44-1-143. (A) For the purposes of this section:
(1) 'Home-based food production operation' means an individual, operating out of the individual's dwelling, who prepares, processes, packages, stores, and distributes nonpotentially hazardous foods for sale directly to a person, including online and by mail order, or to retail stores, including grocery stores. 'Home-based food production operation' does not include preparing, processing, packaging, storing, or distributing aluminum canned goods or charcuterie boards.
(2) 'Nonpotentially hazardous foods' are foods that are not potentially hazardous.
(3) 'Person' means an individual consumer.
(4) 'Potentially hazardous foods' includes:
(a) an animal food that is raw or heat-treated; a plant food that is heat-treated or consists of raw seed sprouts; cut melons; cut leafy greens; cut tomatoes or mixtures of cut tomatoes not modified to prevent microorganism growth or toxin formation; garlic-in-oil mixtures not modified to prevent microorganism growth or toxin formation;
(b) certain foods that are designated as Product Assessment Required (PA) because of the interaction of the pH and Aw values in these foods. Below is a table indicating the interaction of pH and Aw for control of spores in food heat-treated to destroy vegetative cells and subsequently packaged:
Aw values pH values
4.6 or less >4.6-5.6 >5.6
(1) <0.92 non-PHF non-PHF non-PHF
(2) >0.92-0.95 non-PHF non-PHF PHF
(3) >0.95 non-PHF PHF PHF
Foods in item (2) with a pH value greater than 5.6 and foods in item (3) with a pH value greater than 4.6 are considered potentially hazardous unless a product assessment is conducted pursuant to the 2009 Federal Drug Administration Food Code.
(B) The operator of the home-based food production operation must take all reasonable steps to protect food items intended for sale from contamination while preparing, processing, packaging, storing, and distributing the items including, but not limited to:
(1) maintaining direct supervision of any person, other than the operator, engaged in the processing, preparing, packaging, or handling of food intended for sale;
(2) prohibiting all animals, including pets, from entering the area in the dwelling in which the home-based food production operation is located while food items are being prepared, processed, or packaged and prohibiting these animals from having access to or coming in contact with stored food items and food items being assembled for distribution;
(3) prohibiting all domestic activities in the kitchen while the home-based food production operation is processing, preparing, packaging, or handling food intended for sale;
(4) prohibiting any person who is infected with a communicable disease that can be transmitted by food, who is a carrier of organisms that can cause a communicable disease that can be transmitted by food, who has an infected wound, or who has an acute respiratory infection from processing, preparing, packaging, or handling food intended for sale by the home-based food production operation; and
(5) ensuring that all people engaged in processing, preparing, packaging, or handling food intended for sale by the home-based food production operation are knowledgeable of and follow safe food handling practices.
(C) Each home-based food production operation shall maintain a clean and sanitary facility to produce nonpotentially hazardous foods including, but not limited to:
(1) department-approved water supply;
(2) a separate storage place for ingredients used in foods intended for sale;
(3) a properly functioning refrigeration unit;
(4) adequate facilities, including a sink with an adequate hot water supply to meet the demand for the cleaning and sanitization of all utensils and equipment;
(5) adequate facilities for the storage of utensils and equipment;
(6) adequate hand washing facilities separate from the utensil and equipment cleaning facilities;
(7) a properly functioning toilet facility;
(8) no evidence of insect or rodent activity; and
(9) department-approved sewage disposal, either onsite treatment or publicly provided.
(D) All food items packaged at the operation for sale must be properly labeled. The label must comply with federal laws and regulations and must include:
(1) the name and address of the home-based food production operation. If a home-based food production operator does not want to include his address on the label, then the department shall provide an identification number to the operator, upon the operator's request, that can be used on the label instead;
(2) the name of the product being sold;
(3) the ingredients used to make the product in descending order of predominance by weight; and
(4) a conspicuous statement printed in all capital letters and in a color that provides a clear contrast to the background that reads: 'PROCESSED AND PREPARED BY A HOME-BASED FOOD PRODUCTION OPERATION THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO SOUTH CAROLINA'S FOOD SAFETY REGULATIONS.'
(E) Home-based food operations only may sell, or offer to sell, food items directly to a person, including online and by mail order, or to retail stores, including grocery stores. Food produced from a home-based food production operation shall be considered to be from an approved source, as required of a retail food establishment pursuant to Regulation 61.25. Any retail stores, including grocery stores, that sell or offer to sell home-based food products must post clearly visible signage indicating that home-based food products are not subject to commercial food regulations.
(F) A home-based food production operation is not a retail food establishment and is not subject to regulation by the department pursuant to Regulation 61.25.
(G) The provisions of this section do not apply to an operation with net earnings of less than fifteen hundred dollars annually but that would otherwise meet the definition of a home-based food operation provided in subsection (A)(1).
(H) [Deleted]
(I) The provisions of this section apply in the absence of a local ordinance to the contrary."
Time effective
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Ratified the 18th day of May, 2022.
Approved the 23rd day of May, 2022.
This web page was last updated on June 14, 2022 at 2:04 PM