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Committee weighs expanded sales of rabbit meat to farm stands and farmers markets; public-health safeguards required
Summary
House Bill 779 would allow producers to sell rabbit meat directly from farms, farm stands and farmers markets; Department of Health and Human Services said the bill was amended to add training and registration requirements and that no foodborne-illness outbreaks have been reported under the existing restaurant sales program.
Senators considered House Bill 779, which would expand an existing program that allows rabbit meat to be sold to restaurants so that producers can sell up to specified quantities of rabbit meat directly from their farms, at farm stands and at farmers markets.
Representative Peter Bixby, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure extends an earlier 2014 restaurant-sales program. The amended language requires producers to complete training provided by Cooperative Extension, register with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Food Protection program and follow labeling requirements. Bixby said he had worked with the Commissioner of Agriculture and DHHS to rework the bill after early drafting issues were identified.
DHHS testified it had no record of foodborne-illness incidents tied to the existing rabbit-to-restaurant program. Erica Davis, section administrator for food protection, and Michelle Ropersh, bureau chief for public health protection, said the department supported the amended language because it aligns the farm/farm-stand program with the existing restaurant framework and retains education and registration requirements.
Senators raised public-health questions, including the disease tularemia (rabbit fever) and other potential bacterial, parasitic or fungal risks that can be associated with rabbits; DHHS and Cooperative Extension training cover those risks and best practices, the department said. The training is delivered by Cooperative Extension in collaboration with DHHS and USDA staff, and materials include sanitation, labeling and handling practices.
Representative Bixby said the bill would allow producers to sell up to 1,000 rabbits per year they raise on their own farm at farm stands and farmers markets; the same seller may also sell to restaurants under the existing program. The transcript records no confirmed outbreak or food-safety incident tied to rabbit sales under the restaurant program.
The committee discussed the bill at length and voted on related motions; the transcript records motions to move to executive session and subsequent committee motion activity. The final transcript excerpts do not record an unambiguous, roll-call disposition; committee members debated whether to leave the bill to consent and discussed concerns about traceback and monitoring if sales expand to direct-to-consumer venues.
