2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 50. Health and Safety › Chapter 49. Food and Nutrition › Part 2. Montana Local Food Choice Act › 50-49-203. Exemptions from regulations -- transactions -- information required -- exceptions

50-49-203. Exemptions from regulations -- transactions -- information required -- exceptions.
(1) (a) A state agency or an agency of a political subdivision of the state may not require licensure, permitting, certification, packaging, labeling, testing, sampling, or inspection that pertains to the preparation, serving, use, consumption, delivery, or storage of homemade food or a homemade food product under this part.
(b) This part does not preclude an agency from providing assistance, consultation, or inspection requested by a producer.
(c) A producer is not:
(i) a retail food establishment, a cottage food operation, or a temporary food establishment, as each term is defined in 50-50-102;
(ii) a wholesale food manufacturing establishment, as defined in 50-57-102; or
(iii) a dairy or a manufactured dairy products plant, as defined in 81-22-101.
(d) A producer is not subject to labeling, licensure, inspection, sanitation, or other requirements or standards of 30-12-301; Title 50, chapters 31 and 50; or Title 81, chapters 2, 9, 21, 22, or 23.
(2) Transactions pursuant to this part:
(a) must be directly between the producer and the informed end consumer;
(b) must be only for home consumption or consumption at a traditional community social event;
(c) must occur only in this state and may not involve interstate commerce; and
(d) are not subject to regulation by a board of county commissioners pursuant to 7-21-3301.
(3) Except as provided in subsection (7), a producer shall inform an end consumer that any homemade food or homemade food product sold through ranch, farm, or home-based sales pursuant to this part has not been licensed, permitted, certified, packaged, labeled, or inspected per any official regulations.
(4) Except for raw, unprocessed fruit and vegetables, homemade food may not be sold or used in a retail food establishment, as defined in 50-50-102, unless the food has been licensed, permitted, certified, packaged, labeled, and inspected as required by law.
(5) Except as provided in subsection (6) and pursuant to this part, a producer may donate homemade food or homemade food products to a traditional community social event.
(6) A producer may not donate milk to a traditional community social event.
(7) (a) Except for a temporary food establishment subject to 50-50-120, meat or meat products processed at a state-licensed establishment or a federally approved meat establishment, by the producer, or by any third party may not be used in preparation of homemade food that is sold pursuant to a transaction provided for in this part.
(b) Subsection (7)(a) does not apply to a producer who slaughters fewer than 1,000 poultry birds a year except that the producer is subject to the requirements of 9 CFR 381.10(c) and the recordkeeping requirements of 9 CFR 381.175. The poultry or poultry products may not be adulterated or misbranded.
(8) A small dairy shall:
(a) sample, test, or retest every 6 months for standard plate count, coliform count, and somatic cell count of milk or cream sold as homemade food pursuant to this part;
(b) sample, test, or retest every year for brucellosis for every lactating cow, lactating goat, or lactating sheep that is part of the small dairy; and
(c) maintain records for 2 years of all previous samples, tests, or retests, which must be provided to the department of livestock if the department suspects the small dairy is causing a foodborne illness.
History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 320, L. 2021; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 347, L. 2023.