Matt Johnson, director of environmental health at the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, told the Ohio House Agriculture Committee that House Bill 134 would “undermine” existing food-safety infrastructure and create substantial public-health risks by permitting microenterprise home kitchens with limited oversight.

Johnson said Ohio’s current food-safety system — including facility plan review, mandatory food-safety education and routine, primarily unannounced inspections — contributes to a very safe food supply and that the bill would allow operations that “are not designed in a way that protects their health.” He said the Ohio Department of Agriculture can inspect only with an administrative search warrant under the bill’s language, and that local health departments would still be responsible for outbreak response.

Johnson cited data he said are from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to underscore risk: “Over the last 10 years, there have been about 734 foodborne-related outbreaks, over 20,000 people ill, 3,300 people hospitalized and 64 dead,” he told the committee. He said cottage-food exemptions already allow limited low-risk home food production and that microenterprise home kitchens differ from cottage foods because they can include potentially hazardous items such as cream-based dishes, meats and gravies.

Committee members asked Johnson about labeling, liability and how the bill would affect both longtime home bakers and volunteer feeding operations. Representative Brent asked whether liability insurance or bonding would be required; Johnson replied that local health departments do not verify insurance and that insurance is a commercial matter between operator and insurer. He called labeling “a major issue” and said that recalls and allergen incidents occur frequently even in commercial operations.

Representative Miller asked whether proper labeling would make Johnson more comfortable with home-based food sales; Johnson said no, because “labeling doesn't matter if you've already messed up the temperatures, you've already contaminated the food, you've already created a food safety nightmare.” He said the bill, as written, could effectively create restaurants out of homes without the infrastructure and oversight required of licensed facilities.

Committee members also asked whether the bill would affect charitable feeding operations; Johnson said the bill is focused on retail food sales and that feeding-the-homeless activities conducted by churches or volunteers are a different context and may be exempt or subject to different rules.

The hearing for House Bill 134 was designated the bill’s third hearing; Johnson provided testimony and answered multiple committee questions but no committee vote was taken on the measure during the session.