The Senate sent the governor Wednesday a bill that would ease restrictions on Iowans selling home-made food and food at temporary establishments such as farmers’ market stands.
House File 661 passed Wednesday by a vote of 33 to 15. The bill’s floor manager, Senator Jesse Greene, R-Boone, said the bill “supports small businesses,” including household food and processing establishments, food processing plants and temporary food establishments, and farmers. It said it would help market vendors.
The bill sent to Gov. Kim Reynolds follows House File 2431, a 2022 law that allows people to create businesses that manufacture food at home and sell it in stores. The law only allowed the sale of foods that were not time or temperature controlled for safe consumption or preserved foods such as jams, pickles, chocolate, spices or anything below 41 degrees Celsius.
Home-based restaurants will still not be allowed under the bill, but the law will allow home food businesses to sell food made for immediate consumption.
“A classic example of this is that they can sell cold pizza but not hot pizza,” Green said. Other states with similar “food freedom laws” There are no regulations restricting the provision of hot food, he said.
The law also changes the licensing system for businesses such as RAGBRAI and farmers market vendors that sell refrigerated goods from county to statewide annual licenses.
But Senator Tony Bisignano of D-Des Moines, a former restaurant inspector, said the bill had a lot of work to do because of the difficulties the Iowa Department of Inspection, Appeals, and Licensing faces in enforcing food safety regulations for home businesses. Said he had a problem. while addressing greater contamination risks such as exposure of pets and children in the home.
The bill will also deter people from opening restaurants, he said. Because home-based food businesses will face significantly lower costs of food safety requirements, it is necessary to ensure food safety.
“To the poor man who has a restaurant in your community, the poor man who is struggling and abiding by health laws, you tell his competitor, ‘Another rule, outside your home, “It teaches the poor people different rules than they do on Main Street paying property taxes and doing everything they can to survive,” Bisignano said. “People who come out of the basement don’t have any of these expenses. So tell me why they want to start a business when they could have a business at home.”
Bisignano also criticized calling the bill a “food freedom” bill, saying that allowing these businesses to work in residential neighborhoods and apartment buildings would result in additional traffic, odors, waste, etc. said it was infringing on the freedom of neighbors who did not agree to allow run a restaurant.
He filed a report of food safety violations in restaurant inspections of establishments held to higher standards than home businesses.
Green said the bill would not stop local governments from regulating home businesses on issues such as public health and safety, building fire codes, and traffic and noise regulations. He also said these businesses would have to remain as small businesses with annual gross sales he would be capped at $50,000 and not have the waste and transportation issues of restaurants.
Green says people who run home food businesses must take food safety training courses through DIAL, maintain records on recipes and production, and adhere to hygiene and water testing standards.
“We are not the first state to do this,” he said. “And none of these other states have yet had a single proven case of food poisoning attributed to a domestic food processing facility.”
Green also said these businesses do not compete with restaurants.
“The bottom line is that we have two completely different business models,” says Green. “You are comparing apples and oranges. Restaurants have a completely different competitive advantage than home food processors, such as dine-in and alcohol sales. It’s a path that allows you to experience making a little bit of money and one day think about taking the next big step towards starting a restaurant.