The Board of Health granted a variance on June 12 to a Nantucket boat operator to permit the sale of commercially prepackaged frozen desserts from a freezer on the dock without a conventional shore-based base of operations.

Applicant Rachel Perkins described operating several excursion cruises and said the "ice cream cruise" is primarily a family-oriented offering; she said she hands out prepackaged, temperature-controlled frozen desserts bought from retail and keeps the frozen product in a sealed freezer on the dock and discards product at the end of each day. "I moved to Nantucket in 1984... I give about 1,400 ice creams out this season," Perkins told the board.

Health department staff said commercially prepackaged frozen desserts stored in a temperature-controlled unit are a minimal food-safety risk but must be permitted under the food code because the product is distributed to the public. The inspector noted the operation resembles an ice-cream truck model in terms of risk and recommended limiting the permitted activity to commercially prepackaged frozen desserts in a dockside freezer, with the operator required to maintain a food-protection manager certification (ServSafe) and follow all food-code sanitation procedures.

The board discussed the length of the variance; staff said the board can set a term. Members suggested a one-year review as an initial period and emphasized that any substantive change in the operation (for example, selling unpackaged foods or changing the base of operations) would require the operator to return to the board.

A motion to exempt the business from the base-of-operations requirement passed by roll call. Board members recorded affirmative votes during the roll call; the board instructed staff to issue a permitting pathway that includes the food-code conditions discussed.

The operator said she appreciated the board's decision and expected to continue the ice cream offering on harbor cruises.