Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Rule Subject:
Food Warehouses
Adm. Code Reference:
ATCP
70 and 7
1
Rules Clearinghouse #:
Not assigned
DATCP Docket #:
14-R-11
Rule Summary
This proposed rule revision will ensure Wisconsin’s requirements are consistent with federal regulations and expectations for minimizing food safety hazards, while reducing the regulatory burden on some food warehouse operations.
The proposed rule modifies current food warehouse rules to clarify which types of food processing activities in a food warehouse
must be done under a
separate food processing plant license.
The rule clarifies requirements for
food warehouses that hold fish,
fish
ery
products,
and
molluscan shellfish.
The proposed rule
harmonizes the
food warehouse
refrigeration temperature requirement for eggs with the r
equirement found in ch.
ATCP 88
(Eggs)
.
Fin
ally, the
proposed rule reduce
s
confusion about which
new
federal food safety regulations must be followed by food warehouse operators
. T
he proposed rule adopts federal regulations by reference for certain types of food warehouses, and indicates that other food warehouses can qualify for an exemption from
most requirements of the new federal Preventive Controls – Human Food rule
.
Small Businesses Affected
The rule
will impact
food warehouses of all siz
es, including
many
small
ones
.
Of the 860 active food warehouse licenses
,
609
(
over
7
0
%
)
are “small” food warehouses, defined by the department as
having
less than 50,000 square feet of storage area.
The rule
will benefit
operators of
small
food warehouse
businesses
who
wish to
do
minimal repacking of
already
-packaged
products
in a licensed food warehouse
by exempting the
operators
from acquiring a separate food processing plant license.
Operators of
some
small food warehouses may be unaware that they are subject to federal Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) requirements for ensuring food safety.
Storage of
fish,
fishery products,
and
molluscan shellfish
is defined in federal regulations as
a
type
of
processing
of these products
.
Small b
usinesses processing
in this way
are
thereby
subject to federal
HACCP
requirements. The
se
federal HACCP
requirements
are already adopted and applied to Wisconsin-licensed food processing plant operators who process fish and fishery products in ways more commonly recognized as processing
, e.g. smoking, filleting. The proposed rule will clarify that w
arehouse operators who are storing fish, fishery products,
or
molluscan shellfish must meet the existing
federal
HACCP requirements
, which will be enforced during department inspections
.
The majority of food warehouse operators that currently store fish, fishery products, or molluscan shellfish have already implemented HACCP systems.
In addition to the federal HACCP requirements, warehouse-based shippers, shucker-packers, repackers, or reshippers of molluscan shellfish for interstate commerce must hold a
no-fee licensee dealer certification
and meet existing state regulatory requirements
under the federal-state Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference program. The
proposed
rule will clarify this requirement.
Many small food warehouse businesses may be classified as a “qualified facility” under the Preventive Controls – Human Food rule which was recently published by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the mandate of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Under FSMA and the new rule, a qualified facility is exempt from requirements to write and implement a food safety plan and supply chain management controls. The proposed rule refers to this exemption.
Reporting, Bookkeeping and other Procedures
Food warehouses that hold fish,
fishery products,
and
molluscan shellfish will be required to
conduct a hazard analysis, if they have not already done so, and if significant hazards are identified, to
develop
and
follow
a
HACCP plan
.
Federal HACCP regulations, and thus the proposed rule, require documentation of several tasks conducted under the HACCP
plan
. Based on
our
experience
with
food processing plant operators who process fish, fishery products, and molluscan shellfish
;
and warehouse operators who
ar
e already
following a
HACCP
plan
,
we believe
i
t is unlikely that the additional time and cost of these efforts will have a significant negative impact on business.
Professional Skills Required
The proposed rule
will
effectively require operators of food warehouses storing fish, fishery products, or molluscan shellfish to complete HACCP training required in the federal regulations. The two-segment training is presented by internet
/ learner’s manual
(Segment One) and
face-to-face (Segment Two) instruction. The Seafood HACCP Alliance, which oversees the training, ensures that training is affordable for small business operators.
Many food warehouse operators who currently store fish, fishery products, or molluscan shellfish have already completed the training.
The department offers the Segment Two training annually.
Accommodation for Small Business
The
HACCP
requirements for
all
food warehouses that hold fish, fish
ery products,
and
molluscan shellfish are mandated by federal regulations
and therefore an accommodation for small business is not possible
.
The FSMA Preventive Controls – Human Food rule, cited by the proposed rule contains an exemption which will apply to many small food warehouse businesses.
Conclusion
The provisions in this proposed rule will benefit Wisconsin’s
food warehouse
industry, including small food warehouses,
by creating exemptions from food processing plant
licensing
.
The rule will help ensure
that
small food warehouses
storing
fish
,
fishery products
, or molluscan shellfish
meet federal requirements
intended
to minimize the unique risks associated with these products.
This rule will not have a significant adverse effect on “small business” and is not subject to the delayed “small business” effective date provided in s.
227.22(2)(e)
, Stats.
DATCP will, to the maximum extent feasible, seek voluntary compliance with this rule.
