When does the AB 1990 Community Food Production law go into effect?

This new law becomes effective on January 1, 2015. Unless prohibited by a local ordinance (Section 114376(a)), the new law authorizes a Community Food Producer or a Gleaner, as defined, to sell or provide whole uncut fruits or vegetables and up to 15 dozen unrefrigerated shell eggs per month if they meet specified requirements. Community Food Producers and Gleaners may only sell directly to the public, to a permitted restaurant, or to a Cottage Food Operator. The law authorizes San Bernardino County Division of Environmental Health Services (DEHS) to require a Community Food Producer or Gleaner to register and to provide specified information. A fee for registering is not required at this time.

While the law does not require routine inspections, it authorizes an enforcement officer to inspect the operations of a Community Food Producer or Gleaner in response to a food safety recall or food safety complaint, issue a cease and desist order for violations to the provisions of the law, conduct reinspection’s to verify violations are corrected before operations resume, and to recover reasonable costs associated with these inspections.

Failure to meet the requirements of the law is a crime, and Community Food Producers have a legal obligation to implement the best management practices. DEHS requires Community Food Producers to register and complete a self-certification stating they are in compliance with applicable local land use and zoning restrictions and that they use best management practices, as described in the Food Safety Guidelines for Small Farms published the Department of Food and Agriculture (http://bit.ly/1Gqn2of), to grow, harvest and distribute the community foods they are producing.