The bill HB 119-FN amends existing laws to enhance the scope of homestead food operations and the sale of certain meats within the state. It removes the previous annual gross sales cap of $35,000 for homestead food operations, allowing them to sell food (excluding potentially hazardous food) without a specified limit from the homestead residence, farm stands, or farmers' markets. The bill also extends food service and meat inspection regulations to include bison, elk, and red deer, permitting the direct sale of meat products from these animals within the state. It specifies conditions for on-farm slaughter, such as the designation of a slaughter area and humane slaughter methods, while exempting these activities from state inspection requirements. However, it requires labeling to indicate the meat is not state or federally inspected and mandates testing for E. coli and salmonella. The bill also allows the sale of such meat to licensed restaurants, which must keep purchase records and label menu items containing uninspected meat.

Additionally, the bill introduces new requirements for the handling of red deer and elk, including mandatory testing for chronic wasting disease in the event of an atypical death, which is defined as a death not resulting from slaughter. It also makes prospective changes to the handling of uninspected bison meat, removing elk and red deer from certain legal sections and outlining conditions for the exemption of bison slaughter from inspection. The bill requires bison meat to be tested and labeled for E. coli and salmonella. The definition of atypical death and related provisions are set to be repealed on July 1, 2025, while the rest of the act will take effect on October 3, 2023.

Statutes affected:
As Amended by the House: 143-A:5
As Amended by the Senate: 143-A:5, 143-A:18, 427:2-a
Version adopted by both bodies: 143-A:5, 143-A:18, 427:2-a, 427:2
CHAPTERED FINAL VERSION: 143-A:5, 143-A:18, 427:2-a, 427:2