An Act To Require the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources Accurately Identify Harmful and Nonharmful Bacteria When Testing Food Products
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0654
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: NUTTING, BRYANT-DESCHENES, CARR, PERCY, SMITH
Amends: 7 MRSA §12

Legislative Document 
No. 654 
S.P.209 
In Senate, February 8, 2005 
An Act To Require the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural 
Resources Accurately Identify Harmful and Nonharmful Bacteria 
When Testing Food Products 
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator NUTTING of Androscoggin. 
Cosponsored by Representative PlOTT I of Unity and 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Representatives: BRYANT-DESCHENES of Turner, CARR of Lincoln, PERCY of 
Phippsburg, SMITH of Monmouth. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 7 MRSA §12, as amended by PL 1983, c. 308, §§3 and 
14, is further amended to read: 
§12. 
Rules and standards 
The 
commissioner 
shall adopt, 
consistent with the Maine 
Administrative Procedure Act, Title 5, chapter 375, 
rules for 
carrying 
out 
this 
Title 
and 
all 
other 
statutes 
delegating 
responsibility to him the commissioner or the department. 
-He-
Except as provided in section 13-A, 
the commissioner may fix 
standards of purity, quality or strength when such standards are 
not specified or fixed by law, and shall publish them together 
with such other information concerning articles of commercial 
feeding stuff, commercial fertilizer, drug or food as he the 
commissioner may seem determine to be of public benefit. 
Sec. 2. 7 MRS A §13-A is enacted to read: 
§13-A. 
Testing and enforcement of food safety laws 
Notwithstanding 
section 
12, 
the 
commissioner 
may 
not 
establish a standard for food products, including dairy products, 
based on the presence of bacteria unless the standard provides 
for the accurate identification of types of bacteria harmful to 
humans. 
The commissioner may not order a person engaged in the 
production of food for human consumption to cease production or 
restrict sales based on the presence of a bacterium unless that 
bacterium has been identified as harmful to humans. 
Sec. 3. Commissioner of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources 
directed to review procedures for detecting bacteria and make necessary 
revisions. 
The 
Commissioner 
of 
Agriculture, 
Food 
and 
Rural 
Resources shall review procedures used to test for bacteria in 
carrying out the department's responsibilities for food safety 
under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 7, sections 2903-B and 
2910 and Title 22, 
chapters 551 and 
562-A. 
The commissioner 
shall ensure that testing procedures identify and distinguish 
between bacteria that are harmful to human health and those that 
are not. 
The commissioner shall take all actions necessary to 
comply with Title 7, section 13-A, including amending rules and 
revising testing procedures. 
SUMMARY 
This bill directs the Commissioner of Agriculture, Food and 
Rural Resources to review departmental procedures for testing 
food. products for bacteria and requires the procedures be revised 
to distinguish between types of bacteria that are harmful to 
human health and those that are not. 
It prohibits restrictions 
on production or sales of food products based on the presence of 
a bacterium unless the bacterium has been identified as of a type 
that is harmful to human health.