CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Legislation that eased restrictions on cottage food businesses in Wyoming has touched off a debate over government's role in overseeing homemade food products.
Some health officials worry rules that allow home-produced foods to be sold without inspection at farmers' markets and roadside stands expose people to risk from food-borne illness and unlabeled allergens. They also say inspectors can regulate cottage foods without placing an onerous burden on the people who produce them.
"There is a principle of regulation and oversight that we really shouldn't lose," said Robert Harrington, director of the Casper-Natrona County Health Department. "We built a much better food system over the last 80 years, and we shouldn't allow minor concessions to a minor, minor segment of the food production industry to start weakening that system."
Supporters of the relaxed rules say fear of unlicensed foods is misplaced and the government shouldn't be involved when someone wants to sell cookies, jams or similar foods at a farmers' market or bake sale. Some believe the changes don't go far enough and the Legislature should further loosen restrictions on cottage businesses.
"I just feel like the bureaucracy, the food inspection bureaucracy, has gone completely overboard, and is infringing on our constitutional rights to produce things and sell things and consume things and buy things that they have absolutely no justification for doing," said state Rep. Sue Wallis, R-Recluse, the legislator behind the change.
At issue is a change in Wyoming law governing food licensing. Before the change went into effect in July, residents without licenses could only sell homemade foods at religious or charitable events. Only foods deemed "not potentially hazardous" — such as cookies, jams and baked bread — were allowed.
Earlier this year, the Legislature voted to loosen the restriction to allow sales of such foods at farmers' markets, roadside stands and private homes.
Wallis, a rancher, said the new law addressed what she saw as a "ludicrous" situation.
"I could bake two batches of cookies in the oven, take half of them to the church bazaar, and take the other half to the farmers' market, where I would be breaking the law," she said.
Wallis doesn't believe that fewer restrictions will affect the safety of consumers. Besides, she said, people can decide for themselves whether to buy homemade products.
"Any time you buy something from a farmers' market or a roadside stand, or a church bazaar, you know, as a consumer, that was made in somebody's kitchen," she said. "If you are concerned that it takes a government inspector's eyes before you feel safe, then don't buy it."
Harrington, the health department director, sees things differently. He says the state eased regulations at a time when more food-borne illnesses are being reported in foods that were never traditionally considered hazardous.
"You are going to sell food to the unsuspecting public with no oversight, no control, no regulation," he said.
The licensing process allowed inspectors to help cottage businesses minimize the risk of transmitting illness through their foods, said John Drinnon, director of environmental health for the Casper-Natrona County Health Department. That includes maintaining a clean kitchen and properly handling ingredients.
Drinnon worries about the lack of labeling requirements for homemade food covered by the new regulations. Without labels, people might be unaware of allergens in the food. Health officials will also have more difficulty determining where a food came from if it begins to make people sick, he added.
"If you do have an outbreak or a food-related illness, there is no way of tracing it back," he said.
Cindy Ridenour, who helps manage a summertime farmers' market in Cheyenne, said a license isn't necessary to trace a food-related illness back to the source. Some markets, she explained, collect contact information from their vendors.
A license doesn't guarantee food will be safe, added Ridenour, who operates a ranch that produces grass-fed beef and vegetables. Outbreaks can happen at licensed restaurants and kitchens, she said.
"I really think licensing has no bearing at food safety," she said. "It's the conscientious operation of the family by the owner and the employees. That is the only thing that contributes to food safety."
Officials are so far unaware of anyone becoming sick as a result of the new regulations.
Debate over food regulation may return to the Legislature next year. Wallis plans to introduce a bill she offered last session that would allow cottage businesses to also sell "potentially hazardous" foods without a license, as long as the transaction doesn't involve a third party. Those foods include dairy products, canned foods and sauces.
The lawmaker doesn't think relaxing the rules would make the public less safe.
"If I know where my food is coming from, I trust it a lot more than I do the junk that comes out of the store," she said. "Because I know how it was produced, I know who the people are."
Dean Finkenbinder, manager of consumer health services for the state's agriculture department, thinks Wallis' bill would increase the likelihood of food-borne illness. Unlike cookies and bread, foods considered potentially hazardous require more care during production, he said.
"If they would be allowed to sell potentially hazardous food, that would be really scary," he said.
