SB2617 EnrolledLRB103 34813 RPS 64668 b


1 AN ACT concerning health.

2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
3represented in the General Assembly:

4 Section 5. The Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act is 
5amended by changing Section 4 as follows:

6 (410 ILCS 625/4)
7 Sec. 4. Cottage food operation.
8 (a) For the purpose of this Section:
9 A food is "acidified" if: (i) acid or acid ingredients are 
10added to it to produce a final equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below 
11and a water activity greater than 0.85; or (ii) it is fermented 
12to produce a final equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below. 
13 "Canned food" means food that has been heat processed 
14sufficiently under United States Department of Agriculture 
15guidelines to enable storing the food at normal home 
16temperatures. 
17 "Cottage food operation" means an operation conducted by a 
18person who produces or packages food or drink, other than 
19foods and drinks listed as prohibited in paragraph (1.5) of 
20subsection (b) of this Section, in a kitchen located in that 
21person's primary domestic residence or another appropriately 
22designed and equipped kitchen on a farm for direct sale by the 
23owner, a family member, or employee.
 
 
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1 "Cut leafy greens" means fresh leafy greens whose leaves 
2have been cut, shredded, sliced, chopped, or torn. "Cut leafy 
3greens" does not mean cut-to-harvest leafy greens. 
4 "Department" means the Department of Public Health. 
5 "Employee" means a person who is employed by and receives 
6monetary compensation from a cottage food operator. 
7 "Equilibrium pH" means the final potential of hydrogen 
8measured in an acidified food after all the components of the 
9food have achieved the same acidity. 
10 "Farmers' market" means a common facility or area where 
11farmers gather to sell a variety of fresh fruits and 
12vegetables and other locally produced farm and food products 
13directly to consumers. 
14 "Leafy greens" includes iceberg lettuce; romaine lettuce; 
15leaf lettuce; butter lettuce; baby leaf lettuce, such as 
16immature lettuce or leafy greens; escarole; endive; spring 
17mix; spinach; cabbage; kale; arugula; and chard. "Leafy 
18greens" does not include microgreens or herbs such as cilantro 
19or parsley. 
20 "Local health department" means a State-certified health 
21department of a unit of local government in which a cottage 
22food operation is located or, if the cottage food operation is 
23located in a county that does not have a local health 
24department, is registered.
25 "Local public health department association" means an 
26association solely representing 2 or more State-certified 
 
 
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1local health departments.
2 "Low-acid canned food" means any canned food with a 
3finished equilibrium pH greater than 4.6 and a water activity 
4(aw) greater than 0.85. 
5 "Microgreen" means an edible plant seedling grown in soil 
6or substrate and harvested above the soil or substrate line. 
7 "Mobile farmers markets" means a farmers market that is 
8operated from a movable motor drive or propelled vehicle or 
9trailer that can change location, including a farmers market 
10that is owned and operated by a farmer or a third party selling 
11products on behalf of farmers or cottage food operations with 
12the intent of a direct sale to an end consumer. 
13 "Potentially hazardous food" means a food that is 
14potentially hazardous according to the Department's 
15administrative rules. Potentially hazardous food (PHF) in 
16general means a food that requires time and temperature 
17control for safety (TCS) to limit pathogenic microorganism 
18growth or toxin formation.
19 "Sprout" means any seedling intended for human consumption 
20that was produced in a manner that does not meet the definition 
21of microgreen. 
22 "Time/temperature control for safety food" means a food 
23that is stored under time or temperature control for food 
24safety according to the Department's administrative rules. 
25 (b) A cottage food operation may produce homemade food and 
26drink provided that all of the following conditions are met:
 
 
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1  (1) (Blank).
2  (1.3) A cottage food operation must register with the 
3 local health department for the unit of local government 
4 in which it is located, but may sell products outside of 
5 the unit of local government where the cottage food 
6 operation is located. If a county does not have a local 
7 health department, the county shall enter into an 
8 agreement or contract with a local health department in an 
9 adjacent county to register cottage food operations in the 
10 jurisdiction of the county that does not have a health 
11 department. The adjacent local health department where the 
12 cottage food operation registers has the powers described 
13 in subsection (d). A copy of the certificate of 
14 registration must be available upon request by any local 
15 health department. 
16  (1.5) A cottage food operation shall not sell or offer 
17 to sell the following food items or processed foods 
18 containing the following food items, except as indicated:
19   (A) meat, poultry, fish, seafood, or shellfish;
20   (B) dairy, except as an ingredient in a 
21 non-potentially hazardous baked good or candy that is 
22 not a time/temperature control for safety food, such 
23 as caramel, subject to paragraph (4), or as an 
24 ingredient in a baked good frosting, such as 
25 buttercream;
26   (C) eggs, except as an ingredient in a food that is 
 
 
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1 not a time/temperature control for safety food 
2 non-potentially hazardous food, including dry noodles, 
3 or as an ingredient in a baked good frosting, such as 
4 buttercream, if the eggs are not raw;
5   (D) pumpkin pies, sweet potato pies, cheesecakes, 
6 custard pies, creme pies, and pastries with 
7 time/temperature control for safety foods that are 
8 potentially hazardous fillings or toppings;
9   (E) garlic in oil or oil infused with garlic, 
10 except if the garlic oil is acidified;
11   (F) low-acid canned foods;
12   (G) sprouts;
13   (H) cut leafy greens, except for cut leafy greens 
14 that are dehydrated, acidified, or blanched and 
15 frozen;
16   (I) cut or pureed fresh tomato or melon;
17   (J) dehydrated tomato or melon;
18   (K) frozen cut melon;
19   (L) wild-harvested, non-cultivated mushrooms;
20   (M) alcoholic beverages; or
21   (N) kombucha. 
22  (1.6) In order to sell canned tomatoes or a canned 
23 product containing tomatoes, a cottage food operator shall 
24 either: 
25   (A) follow exactly a recipe that has been tested 
26 by the United States Department of Agriculture or by a 
 
 
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1 state cooperative extension located in this State or 
2 any other state in the United States; or
3   (B) submit the recipe, at the cottage food 
4 operator's expense, to a commercial laboratory 
5 according to the commercial laboratory's directions to 
6 test that the product has been adequately acidified; 
7 use only the varietal or proportionate varietals of 
8 tomato included in the tested recipe for all 
9 subsequent batches of such recipe; and provide 
10 documentation of the annual test results of the recipe 
11 submitted under this subparagraph upon registration 
12 and to an inspector upon request during any inspection 
13 authorized by subsection (d). 
14  (2) In order to sell a fermented or acidified food, a 
15 cottage food operation shall either:
16   (A) submit a recipe that has been tested by the 
17 United States Department of Agriculture or a 
18 cooperative extension system located in this State or 
19 any other state in the United States; or
20   (B) submit a written food safety plan for each 
21 category of products for which the cottage food 
22 operator uses the same procedures, such as pickles, 
23 kimchi, or hot sauce, and a pH test for a single 
24 product that is representative of that category; the 
25 written food safety plan shall be submitted annually 
26 upon registration and each pH test shall be submitted 
 
 
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1 every 3 years; the food safety plan shall adhere to 
2 guidelines developed by the Department.
3  (3) A fermented or acidified food shall be packaged 
4 according to one of the following standards:
5   (A) A fermented or acidified food that is canned 
6 must be processed in a boiling water bath in a 
7 Mason-style jar or glass container with a 
8 tight-fitting lid.
9   (B) A fermented or acidified food that is not 
10 canned shall be sold in any container that is new, 
11 clean, and seals properly and must be stored, 
12 transported, and sold at or below 41 degrees. 
13  (4) In order to sell a baked good with cheese, a local 
14 health department may require a cottage food operation to 
15 submit a recipe, at the cottage food operator's expense, 
16 to a commercial laboratory to verify that it is not a 
17 time-or-temperature control for safety food 
18 non-potentially hazardous before allowing the cottage food 
19 operation to sell the baked good as a cottage food.
20  (5) For a cottage food operation that does not utilize 
21 a municipal water supply, such as an operation using a 
22 private well, a local health department may require a 
23 water sample test to verify that the water source being 
24 used meets public safety standards related to E. coli 
25 coliform. If a test is requested, it must be conducted at 
26 the cottage food operator's expense.
 
 
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1  (6) A person preparing or packaging a product as part 
2 of a cottage food operation must be a Department-approved 
3 certified food protection manager.
4  (7) Food packaging must conform with the labeling 
5 requirements of the Illinois Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. 
6 A cottage food product shall be prepackaged and the food 
7 packaging shall be affixed with a prominent label that 
8 includes the following:
9   (A) the name of the cottage food operation and 
10 unit of local government in which the cottage food 
11 operation is located;
12   (B) the identifying registration number provided 
13 by the local health department on the certificate of 
14 registration and the name of the municipality or 
15 county in which the registration was filed;
16   (C) the common or usual name of the food product;
17   (D) all ingredients of the food product, including 
18 any color, artificial flavor, and preservative, listed 
19 in descending order by predominance of weight shown 
20 with the common or usual names;
21   (E) the following phrase in prominent lettering: 
22 "This product was produced in a home kitchen not 
23 inspected by a health department that may also process 
24 common food allergens. If you have safety concerns, 
25 contact your local health department.";
26   (F) the date the product was processed; and
 
 
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1   (G) allergen labeling as specified under federal 
2 labeling requirements. 
3  (8) Food packaging may include the designation 
4 "Illinois-grown", "Illinois-sourced", or "Illinois farm 
5 product" if the packaged product is a local farm or food 
6 product as that term is defined in Section 5 of the Local 
7 Food, Farms, and Jobs Act.
8  (9) In the case of a product that is difficult to 
9 properly label or package, or for other reasons, the local 
10 health department of the location where the product is 
11 sold may grant permission to sell products that are not 
12 prepackaged, in which case other prominent written notice 
13 shall be provided to the purchaser.
14  (10) At the point of sale, notice must be provided in a 
15 prominent location that states the following: "This 
16 product was produced in a home kitchen not inspected by a 
17 health department that may also process common food 
18 allergens." At a physical display, notice shall be a 
19 placard. Online, notice shall be a message on the cottage 
20 food operation's online sales interface at the point of 
21 sale.
22  (11) Food and drink produced by a cottage food 
23 operation shall be sold directly to consumers for their 
24 own consumption and not for resale. Sales directly to 
25 consumers include, but are not limited to, sales at or 
26 through:
 
 
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1   (A) farmers' markets;
2   (B) fairs, festivals, public events, or online;
3   (C) pickup from the private home or farm of the 
4 cottage food operator, if the pickup is not prohibited 
5 by any law of the unit of local government that applies 
6 equally to all cottage food operations; in a 
7 municipality with a population of 1,000,000 or more, a 
8 cottage food operator shall comply with any law of the 
9 municipality that applies equally to all home-based 
10 businesses; 
11   (D) delivery to the customer; and
12   (E) pickup from a third-party private property 
13 with the consent of the third-party property holder; 
14 and 
15   (F) mobile farmers markets.
16  (12) Only food that is not a time-or-temperature 
17 control for safety food non-potentially hazardous may be 
18 shipped. A cottage food product shall not be shipped out 
19 of State. Each cottage food product that is shipped must 
20 be sealed in a manner that reveals tampering, including, 
21 but not limited to, a sticker or pop top. 
22  (13) Alcohol may be used to make extracts, such as 
23 vanilla extract, or may be used as an ingredient in baked 
24 goods as long as the created product is not intended for 
25 use as a beverage.
26  (14) Time/temperature control for safety foods shall 
 
 
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1 be maintained and transported at holding temperatures as 
2 set in the Department's administrative rules to ensure the 
3 food's safety and limit microorganism growth or toxin 
4 formation.
5  (15) A product assessment of pH and water activity may 
6 be used to show that a product is non-time or temperature 
7 controlled for food safety and does not require 
8 temperature control. 
9 (c) A local health department shall register any eligible 
10cottage food operation that meets the requirements of this 
11Section and shall issue a certificate of registration with an 
12identifying registration number to each registered cottage 
13food operation. A local health department may establish a 
14self-certification program for cottage food operators to 
15affirm compliance with applicable laws, rules, and 
16regulations. Registration shall be completed annually and the 
17local health department may impose a fee not to exceed $50. 
18 (d) In the event of a consumer complaint or foodborne 
19illness outbreak, upon notice from a different local health 
20department, or if the Department or a local health department 
21has reason to believe that an imminent health hazard exists or 
22that a cottage food operation's product has been found to be 
23misbranded, adulterated, or not in compliance with the 
24conditions for cottage food operations set forth in this 
25Section, the Department or the local health department may:
26  (1) inspect the premises of the cottage food operation 
 
 
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1 in question;
2  (2) set a reasonable fee for the inspection; and
3  (3) invoke penalties and the cessation of the sale of 
4 cottage food products until it deems that the situation 
5 has been addressed to the satisfaction of the Department 
6 or local health department; if the situation is not 
7 amenable to being addressed, the local health department 
8 may revoke the cottage food operation's registration 
9 following a process outlined by the local health 
10 department. 
11 (e) A local health department that receives a consumer 
12complaint or a report of foodborne illness related to a 
13cottage food operator in another jurisdiction shall refer the 
14complaint or report to the local health department where the 
15cottage food operator is registered. 
16 (f) By January 1, 2022, the Department, in collaboration 
17with local public health department associations and other 
18stakeholder groups, shall write and issue administrative 
19guidance to local health departments on the following: 
20  (1) development of a standard registration form, 
21 including, if applicable, a written food safety plan;
22  (2) development of a Home-Certification Self Checklist 
23 Form;
24  (3) development of a standard inspection form and 
25 inspection procedures; and
26  (4) procedures for cottage food operation workspaces 
 
 
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