Revision: June 15, 2014, midnight
HB 608 – VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
8Jan2014… 2358h
15May2014… 1872EBA
2014 SESSION
08/03
HOUSE BILL 608
AN ACT relative to the sale of certain uninspected poultry and rabbits to licensed restaurants.
SPONSORS: Rep. C. McGuire, Merr 29; Rep. Comtois, Belk 7; Rep. Sad, Ches 1; Rep. Jones, Straf 24; Sen. Cataldo, Dist 6
COMMITTEE: Environment and Agriculture
This bill allows for the sale of certain uninspected poultry and rabbits to licensed restaurants.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
8Jan2014… 2358h
15May2014… 1872EBA
13-0077
08/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fourteen
AN ACT relative to the sale of certain uninspected poultry and rabbits to licensed restaurants.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Exemptions from Food Service Licensure. Amend RSA 143-A:5 by adding the following new paragraph after paragraph VII:
VIII. A farm owned or operated by a federally exempt poultry producer, as defined in RSA?143-A:14, I, and the direct sale of such poultry to the consumer from the producer’s farm, at the producer’s farm stand, and by the producer at a farmers market, or when sold to a licensed restaurant in accordance with RSA 143-A:14 through RSA 143-A:17.
2 Sale of Uninspected Poultry and Rabbits to Licensed Restaurants. Amend RSA 143-A by inserting after section 13 the following new subdivision:
Sale of Uninspected Poultry and Rabbits to Restaurants
143-A:14 Definitions. In this subdivision:
I. “Federally exempt poultry producer” means a poultry producer that qualifies for a federal exemption from inspection under the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act.
II. “Licensed restaurant” means a food service establishment, licensed under RSA 143-A:4, which is in a fixed location that is adequate and sanitary, where food is prepared primarily for service of a meal intended for purchase and consumption by the consumer.
III. “Poultry” means any domesticated bird, whether alive or dead.
IV. “Poultry producer” means any person who raises poultry and sells it for human consumption.
V. “Processed” means the animal has been slaughtered and cleaned in a sanitary manner so that it is ready for use as human food but has not been further prepared or treated, except as needed to package and store it.
VI. “Rabbit” means any domesticated member of the family Leporidae of long-eared, short-tailed lagomorph mammals with long hind legs, whether alive or dead.
VII. “Rabbit producer” means any person who raises rabbits and sells them for human consumption.
VIII. “Uninspected” means poultry or rabbits that are not individually marked as having passed inspection as prescribed by the United States Department of Agriculture or in accordance with RSA 427.
143-A:15 Purchase of Uninspected Poultry and Rabbits by Licensed Restaurants.
I. A licensed restaurant may purchase uninspected, processed, whole poultry or rabbits from rabbit producers or federally exempt poultry producers who provide proof of compliance with the registration and educational requirements of this subdivision. All packaging containing uninspected poultry and rabbits shall be clearly labeled to include, but not be limited to, the following information: the name and address of the farm where the product originates and the date of slaughter.
II. For at least 90 days from the date of each purchase, the licensed restaurant shall keep on file the receipt of purchase to include the product purchased, the date of purchase, the name of the producer, the name and address of the farm, and phone number.
III. The licensed restaurant shall clearly label any menu item containing uninspected poultry or rabbit with the following statement: “This product has been raised and processed on a New Hampshire farm and is exempt from state and federal inspection.”
143-A:16 Producer Requirements. A federally exempt poultry producer may, in a calendar year, sell to licensed restaurants up to 1,000 uninspected, processed whole poultry that the producer has raised and a rabbit producer may, in a calendar year, sell to licensed restaurants up to 1,000 uninspected, processed whole rabbits that the producer has raised, provided all of the following conditions are met:
I. The producer is current with all educational requirements that are established by the commissioner in consultation with the commissioner of agriculture, markets, and food relative to proper methods of slaughtering, processing, packaging, and storing poultry or rabbit on the farm and its subsequent transport to restaurants; and
II. The producer has registered with the department of agriculture, markets and food by providing his or her name, the name and address of the farm, and phone number, to allow for trace back in the event of disease outbreak. Such registry information shall be protected pursuant to RSA?436:6-a.
143-A:17 Rulemaking. The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of the department of agriculture, markets, and food, shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to:
I. Content and format of all labeling requirements, except for the label content required under RSA 143-A:15, III;
II. Educational requirements under RSA 143-A:16, I, which may include a continuing education component; and
III. The method by which proof of compliance by producers with the registration and educational requirements of this subdivision can be demonstrated to licensed restaurants, which may include an online listing of compliant producers.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 90 days after passage.