An Act To Promote Small Diversified Farms and Small Food Producers
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 0835
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: CHAPMAN
Amends: 7 MRSA §411, 7 MRSA §416, 22 MRSA §2152, 22 MRSA §2152-A

Legislative Document
No. 835
H.P. 584
House of Representatives, March 7, 2017
An Act To Promote Small Diversified Farms and Small Food 
Producers
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative CHAPMAN of Brooksville.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  7 MRSA §411, as enacted by PL 1977, c. 505 and amended by PL 1979, c. 
731, §19 and PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §6, is further amended to read: 
§411.  Definitions 
As used in this subchapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings. 
1.  Commissioner. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture, 
Conservation and Forestry. 
2.  Direct-marketing. "Direct-marketing" means the marketing of agricultural 
commodities by farmers directly to consumers. 
3.  Agricultural producer.  "Agricultural producer" means a person who grows, 
raises, harvests or produces a farm food product. 
4.  Agritourism.  "Agritourism" means an activity or demonstration offered to 
persons visiting a farm. "Agritourism" includes, but is not limited to, participating in the 
harvesting of fruits and vegetables or the production of maple syrup, riding horses, 
learning about animal husbandry and fiber production and shopping in farm gift shops 
and at farm stands for local and regional farm and food products or handcrafted gifts. 
5.  Farm food product.  "Farm food product" means any food product of the soil or 
water, including, but not limited to, fruits, vegetables, eggs, dairy products, meat and 
meat products, poultry and poultry products, fish and fish products, grain and grain 
products, honey, nuts, maple products, apple cider and fruit juice. 
6.  Home kitchen producer.  "Home kitchen producer" means a person who 
prepares food in a private home kitchen that is not licensed as a food establishment under 
Title 22, chapter 551 when that food is sold, offered for sale or offered for consumption 
outside the home. 
7.  Homemade food.  "Homemade food" means food that is prepared in a private 
home kitchen that is not licensed as a food establishment under Title 22, chapter 551. 
8.  Informed end consumer.  "Informed end consumer" means, with regard to a farm 
food product or homemade food, a person who is the last person to purchase the food or 
product, who does not resell the food or product and who has been informed by a label 
that satisfies the requirements of section 416, subsection 3 that the food or product is not 
licensed or inspected. 
9.  Traditional community social event.   "Traditional community social event" 
means an event where people gather as part of a community for the benefit of those 
gathering or for the benefit of the community, including but not limited to a: 
A.  Wedding; 
B.  Funeral; 
C.  Church or religious social; 
D.  School event; 
E.  Potluck; 
F.  Neighborhood gathering; 
G.  Ladies' or gentlemen's club meeting or social; or 
H.  Youth club meeting or social. 
Sec. 2.  7 MRSA §416 is enacted to read: 
§416.  Purchasing food from known sources 
1.  License not required for sale of farm food products.  An agricultural producer 
is exempt from licensing requirements under Title 22, chapter 551 for sales of farm food 
products when the sales: 
A.  Are made directly to an informed end consumer; and 
B.  Occur on the farm where the farm food product originated or at the home of the 
informed end consumer. 
2.  License not required for sale or offering of homemade food.  A home kitchen 
producer is exempt from licensing requirements under Title 22, chapter 551 for sales or 
the offering of homemade food: 
A.  Directly to an informed end consumer; and 
B.  Occurring at the home of the home kitchen producer or at a traditional community 
social event. 
3.  Food exempt from inspection.  Farm food products and homemade food 
produced and sold in this State or prepared and served in this State are not subject to 
inspection by the department under section 446 or Title 22, section 2162 or 2164 when: 
A.  The transaction is between an agricultural producer or a home kitchen producer 
and an informed end consumer; or 
B.  The farm food product or homemade food is sold or served at a traditional 
community social event or an agritourism event. 
Farm food products and homemade food must be sold in packages with a label on each 
package containing the following information: the name, address, including zip code, and 
phone number of the producer; the name of the food product; the ingredients of the food 
product in descending order of predominance by weight; and the net quantity of contents 
in terms of weight, measure or numerical count. Farm food products and homemade food 
must also be clearly labeled with the following statement, if applicable: "This food 
product is not produced under license or inspected by the State of Maine."  In addition, a 
sign containing the following statement must be displayed in a conspicuous place where 
sales occur: "Please inform us of any food allergies before purchase." 
4.  Commissioner's authority.  Notwithstanding subsection 3, when the 
commissioner is investigating an outbreak of a foodborne illness and has reason to 
believe that farm food products or homemade food is adulterated pursuant to Title 22, 
section 2156, subsection 1, the commissioner shall inspect and may detain, embargo or 
condemn those products in accordance with Title 22, section 2159. 
Sec. 3.  22 MRSA §2152, sub-§8 is repealed. 
Sec. 4.  22 MRSA §2152-A is enacted to read: 
§2152-A.  Application 
Except as provided in Title 7, section 416, subsection 4, this subchapter does not 
apply to the sale of farm food products and homemade food to informed end consumers 
as defined in Title 7, section 411, subsections 5, 7 and 8, respectively. 
SUMMARY 
This bill facilitates direct sales between Maine farmers and consumers.  It allows 
persons preparing food in their own homes to sell directly to consumers or to offer 
homemade food at certain events without being licensed as food establishments.