Chapter
530
2007 -- S 1051 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 11/07/07
A N A C T
RELATING TO FOOD AND
DRUGS -- SANITATION IN FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS
Introduced By: Senators P Fogarty, Sosnowski, Blais, Breene, and Gallo
Date Introduced: May 23,
2007
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Legislative findings. -- It is hereby found and declared as follows:
The general assembly finds that the historical, architectural, and cultural
heritage of the
state of
Rhode Island should be preserved as a part of our life to enrich the experience
of present
and
future generations, and that the continued expansion of urban development
threatens the
existence
of our historical sites and structures.
SECTION
2. Sections 21-27-1 and 21-27-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 21-27
entitled
"Sanitation in Food Establishments" are hereby amended to read as
follows:
21-27-1.
Definitions. -- Unless otherwise specifically provided in this chapter,
the
following
definitions apply to this chapter:
(1) "Approved" means approved by the director.
(2) "Commissary" means a central processing establishment where food
is prepared for
sale or
service off the premises or by mobile vendor.
(3) "Department" means the department of health.
(4) "Director" means the director of health or the director's duly
appointed agents.
(5) "Farmers market" means a market where two (2) or more farmers are
selling produce
exclusively
grown on their own farms on a retail basis to consumers. Excluded from this
term is
any
market where farmers or others are selling produce at wholesale and/or any
market in which
any
individual is selling produce not grown on his or her own farm.
(6) "Farm home food manufacture" means the production in accordance
with the
requirements
of section 21-27-6.1 of food for retail sale in a residential kitchen on a farm
which
produces
agricultural products for human consumption and the operator of which is
eligible for
exemption
from the sales and use tax in accordance with section 44-18-30(32).
(7) "Food" means: (i) articles used for food or drink for people or
other animals, (ii)
chewing
gum, and (iii) articles used for components of any food or drink article.
(8) "Food business" means and includes any establishment or place,
whether fixed or
mobile,
where food or ice is held, processed, manufactured, packaged, prepared,
displayed,
served,
transported, or sold.
(9) "Food service establishment" means any fixed or mobile
restaurant, coffee shop,
cafeteria,
short-order cafe, luncheonette, grill, tearoom, sandwich shop, soda fountain,
tavern; bar,
cocktail
lounge, night club, roadside stand, industrial feeding establishment, cultural
heritage
education
facility, private, public or
nonprofit organization or institution routinely serving food,
catering
kitchen, commissary or similar place in which food or drink is prepared for
sale or for
service
on the premises or elsewhere, and any other eating or drinking establishment or
operation
where
food is served or provided for the public with or without charge.
(10) "Mobile food service unit" means a unit that prepares and/or
sells food products for
direct
consumption.
(11) "Person" means any individual, firm, co-partnership,
association, or private or
municipal
corporation.
(12) "Processor" means one who combines, handles, manufactures or
prepares, packages,
and
stores food products.
(13) "Operator" in relation to food vending machines means any person
who by contract,
agreement,
lease, rental, or ownership sells food from vending machines.
(14) "Retail" means when eighty percent (80%) or more of sales are
made directly to
consumers.
(15) "Retail peddler" means a food business which sells meat,
seafood, and dairy
products
directly to the consumer, house to house or in a neighborhood.
(16) "Roadside farmstand" means a stand or location adjacent to a
farm where produce
grown
only on that farm is sold at the time of harvest.
(17) "Vending machine site or location" means the room, enclosure,
space, or area where
one or
more vending machines are installed and/or operated.
(18) "Warehouse" means a place for the storage of dried, fresh, or
frozen food or food
products,
not including those areas associated within or directly part of a food service
establishment
or retail market.
(19) "Wholesale" means when eighty percent (80%) or more of the
business is for resale
purposes.
(20)
"Cultural heritage education facility" means a facility for up to ten
(10) individuals
who,
for a fee, participate in the preparation and consumption of food, limited to
an owner-
occupied
site which is "listed" on the state or federal historic register and
whose drinking water
shall
be obtained from an approved source which meets all of the requirements of
chapter 46-13.
21-27-10.
Registration of food businesses. -- (a) No person shall operate a food
business
as
defined in section 21-27-1(8) unless he or she annually registers the business
with the state
director
of health; provided, that food businesses conducted by nonprofit organizations,
hospitals,
public
institutions, farmers markets, roadside farmstands, or any municipality shall
be exempt
from
payment of any required fee. (b) In order to set the registration renewal dates
so that all
activities
for each establishment can be combined on one registration instead of on
several
registrations,
the registration renewal date shall be set by the department of health. The
registration
period shall be for twelve (12) months commencing on the registration renewal
date,
and the
registration fee shall be at the full annual rate regardless of the date of
application or the
date of
issuance of registration. If the registration renewal date is changed, the
department may
make an
adjustment to the fees of registered establishments, not to exceed the annual
registration
fee, in
order to implement the changes in registration renewal date. Registrations
issued under this
chapter
may be suspended or revoked for cause. Any registration or license shall be
posted in a
place
accessible and prominently visible to an agent of the director. (c)
Registration with the
director
of health shall be based upon satisfactory compliance with all laws and
regulations of the
director
applicable to the food business for which registration is required. (d) The
director of
health
is authorized to adopt regulations necessary for the implementation of this
chapter. (e)
Classification
and fees for registration shall be as follows:
(1)
Food processors (Wholesale) ...................................... $210.00
(2)
Food processors (Retail) ................................ 90.00
(3)
Food service establishments:
(i)
50 seats or less .................................... 120.00
(ii)
More than 50 seats ................................... 180.00
(iii)
Mobile food service units .....................................….. 72.00
(iv)
Industrial caterer or food vending machine commissary
............................................................ 210.00
(v)
Cultural heritage educational facility 80.00
(v)
(4) Vending machine sites or location:
(A)
(i) Three (3) or less machines
.......................................
36.00
(B)
(ii) Four (4) to ten (10) machines
.................................
72.00
(C)
(iii) Eleven (11) or more machines .............................. 90.00
(4) (5) Retail markets:
(i)
1 to 2 cash registers .............................................. 90.00
(ii)
3 to 5 cash registers ............................................ 180.00
(iii)
6 or more cash registers ........................................ 390.00
(5)(6)
Retail food peddler (meat, seafood, dairy, and frozen dessert products)
......................................................
72.00
(6)(7)
Food warehouses .................................................. 144.00
(f) In no instance where an individual food business has more than one activity
eligible
under
this chapter for state registration within a single location shall the business
be required to
pay more
than a single fee for the one highest classified activity listed in subsection
(e) of this
section;
provided, that where several separate but identically classified activities are
located
within
the same building and under the management and jurisdiction of one person, one
fee shall
be
required. In each of the instances in this subsection, each activity shall be
separately registered.
SECTION
3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC03146/SUB A/2
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