Bill would shift food-establishment, cottage-food and 'farm-to-fork' oversight to Department of Agriculture

Senate Bill 466 would transfer authority for oversight of food establishments, cottage-food operations and ‘‘farm-to-fork’’ events from the Division of Public and Behavioral Health to the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

Director Jerry Goicoechea of the Department of Agriculture told the Senate Health and Human Services Committee the bill consolidates enforcement and permitting authority into one department to give constituents ‘‘a one-stop shop’’ and a single set of rules. He said the budget moves for the work have already been approved and the bill provides the statutory ‘‘enabling’’ language to carry out the transfer.

Goicoechea described several technical elements in the bill. He said the committee should note language in the proposal that allows the department to charge an assessment for services the department provides in a county, but he explained the department did not accept a proposed amendment from the Nevada Association of Counties that would have tried to bar assessments when a local health district provides the inspection. ‘‘We did not accept NACO’s amendment,’’ he said, explaining that the department does provide some services in certain rural counties and did not want to eliminate the ability to charge an assessment for services the department actually provides.

The bill also contains new language addressing hemp-derived components and a limit on total potential THC in finished products: as presented to the committee, the proposal would treat an ‘‘approved hemp component’’ consistent with U.S. Food and Drug Administration determinations and would limit final products to less than 0.3 percent total potential THC and no more than 5 milligrams total potential THC per package. Goicoechea said the department had run the hemp language by the Cannabis Compliance Board and that board had suggested more nuanced language but the department sought to move the bill forward without major changes.

SB466 would also clarify that meat served at a farm-to-fork event is allowed if the meat is raised and processed on the farm pursuant to Chapter 583 of the Nevada Revised Statutes or comes from an official establishment or a facility under a federal inspection program. Goicoechea said that change reflected Nevada’s in-state meat and poultry inspection program and the practical need to allow state- or federally-inspected meat at events.

Supporters included the Retail Association of Nevada, the Nevada Farm Bureau and the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. Liz McMenamin of the Retail Association said SB466 ‘‘offers a smart, thoughtful consolidation of oversight’’ that could reduce compliance costs and make the rules more predictable for food retailers. Doug Busselman of the Nevada Farm Bureau said his organization ‘‘is in strong support’’ of moving authority to the Department of Agriculture. Shane Piccinini of the Food Bank of Northern Nevada said the bill ‘‘is definitely the direction we want to go’’ for cottage foods and small food operations.

There was no opposition and no neutral witness who offered substantive objections at the hearing. The committee closed the hearing on SB466 and did not take a final vote at this meeting.

If enacted as drafted, SB466 would centralize oversight of multiple food-related programs in the Department of Agriculture and add statutory clarifications on hemp-derived food components, farm-to-fork meat rules and assessment authority for services the department provides.