Committee hears freeze‑drying expansion; homestead food bills get technical amendments and some deferrals

Lede: The House Environment and Agriculture Committee heard testimony on HB 505 (allowing sale of freeze‑dried foods produced in homestead operations) and adopted a small sanitization wording change to HB 150, while deferring other homestead items for later executive sessions.

Nut graf: Farmers and homestead operators said modern freeze‑drying can render some perishable items shelf‑stable, allowing home micro‑producers to expand sales without moving into expensive commercial kitchens. State health regulators told the committee that specialized processes require product‑specific review by a processing authority and that improper drying can leave a product unsafe.

Body: Representative Tom Schomburg introduced HB 505 on behalf of constituents who use home freeze dryers to create shelf‑stable candies and want to expand into frozen‑dessert products, such as freeze‑dried ice cream. Sponsor testimony described freeze drying as a process that reduces water activity in a product so it can be stored at room temperature.

Donna Bates, a homestead operator who makes freeze‑dried candies and ice cream, told the committee she can run small commercial‑grade freeze dryers in a home kitchen and said the equipment follows controlled, documented cycles. Bates said operators use clean trays, parchment and oxygen absorbers and that properly packaged freeze‑dried goods have long shelf life. She added that opening the homestead rules to freeze‑dried milk and dairy would be “life changing” for small producers who lack the money and space for full commercial kitchens.

Erica Davis, Food Protection Section administrator for the Department of Health and Human Services, testified that DHHS is neutral on HB 505 but raised technical safety concerns. "If the process is not done properly, it can leave a product unsafe," Davis said, and emphasized that the department expects specialized processes to be evaluated by a processing authority and — when sold at retail — produced in commercial facilities and on commercial equipment. DHHS provided the committee with a 2013 outbreak report involving dehydrated pet treats in which 43 people became ill from Salmonella associated with chicken jerky pet treats; the department cautioned the committee that dehydration and freeze drying are similar in risk if not performed to an evaluated protocol.

The committee also adopted a small wording change in HB 150 — replacing "washed and rinsed" wording with "cleaned and sanitized" for equipment in the homestead processing area. Representative Comteuil introduced amendment 20250420h to make that change; the amendment passed on a roll call and the committee then voted to adopt HB 150 with the amendment.

HB 307 (food production area for homestead food) received stakeholder‑submitted language and was recessed to a future exec session for further revision; lawmakers said they plan to draft a limited amendment addressing hand‑washing access, pet exclusion and sanitizable food‑contact surfaces.

Ending: The committee closed the HB 505 hearing without a vote, leaving language refinement and DHHS‑recommended review procedures for further working sessions. Members asked sponsors and DHHS to produce tighter processing definitions (for example, requiring appropriate freeze‑dry equipment and process authority review for potentially hazardous items) for the next exec session.