Webinar to give overview of Arkansas Food Freedom Act – Searcy Daily Citizen

The Arkansas Food Freedom Act opens increased opportunities for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, but those who create food and drink items must be sure theyre legal to sell under the act.

The popularity of homemade goods, also known as cottage foods, has seen a significant uptick in the last two decades, according to the Food Law and Policy Clinic at the Harvard Law School.

Arkansas producers are able to sell certain home-processed food items to the public without inspection from the Arkansas Department of Health, said Jeff Jackson, public health section chief II with the Arkansas Department of Health. While this will present opportunities for Arkansas producers, the details of the Arkansas Food Freedom Act should be clearly understood to ensure that food entrepreneurs know which items are eligible for sale and which are not.

Act 1040 of 2021, which became known as the Arkansas Food Freedom Act, allows Arkansas residents to sell more types of homemade food and drink products in more locations than before, and allows direct sales of certain homemade food and drink products that do not require time or temperature controls to remain safe. Some products, such as pickles, salsas and canned vegetables, may require pH testing or preapproved recipes.

On Jan. 10, Jackson will present An Overview of the Arkansas Food Freedom Act. The webinar will be held at 11 a.m. Central. Registration is free.

The webinar is the second in a three-part series called Plan. Produce. Profit, which provides information to specialty crop producers on how to operate within the Arkansas Food Freedom Act.

The third Plan. Produce. Profit. webinar will be held Feb. 14. Renee Threlfall of the Institute of Food Science and Engineering at the Division of Agriculture will present the webinar, titled Creating and Processing Value-Added Food Products in Arkansas. Registration is available online.

The first webinar, Liability Issues with Food Processing Under the Arkansas Food Freedom Act, was presented by NALC Senior Staff Attorney Rusty Rumley. The recording of the presentation is available online.

The National Agricultural Law Center and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture are facilitating the webinars which are designed for Arkansas specialty crop producers. The series is funded by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture through the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.

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Webinar to give overview of Arkansas Food Freedom Act - Searcy Daily Citizen