2001 Montana Legislature

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HOUSE BILL NO. 218

INTRODUCED BY T. FACEY

Montana State Seal

AN ACT REGULATING AND LICENSING WATER HAULERS AS FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS; DEFINING "WATER HAULER"; REQUIRING WATER HAULERS TO OBTAIN WATER FROM PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS OR APPROVED SOURCES; AMENDING SECTION 50-50-102, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:



     Section 1.  Section 50-50-102, MCA, is amended to read:

     "50-50-102.  Definitions. Unless the context requires otherwise, in this chapter, the following definitions apply:

     (1)  "Baked goods" means breads, cakes, candies, cookies, pastries, and pies that are not potentially hazardous foods.

     (2)  (a) "Commercial establishment" means an establishment operated primarily for profit.

     (b)  The term does not include a farmer's market.

     (3)  "Department" means the department of public health and human services provided for in 2-15-2201.

     (4)  "Establishment" means a food manufacturing establishment, meat market, food service establishment, food warehouse, frozen food plant, commercial food processor, or perishable food dealer, or water hauler not regulated as a public water supply system as provided in Title 75, chapter 6.

     (5)  "Farmer's market" means a farm premises, a roadside stand owned and operated by a farmer, or an organized market authorized by the appropriate municipal or county authority.

     (6)  "Food" means an edible substance, beverage, or ingredient used, intended for use, or for sale for human consumption.

     (7)  "Food manufacturing establishment" means a commercial establishment and buildings or structures in connection with it used to manufacture or prepare food for sale or human consumption, but does not include milk producers' facilities, milk pasteurization facilities, milk product manufacturing plants, slaughterhouses, or meat packing plants.

     (8)  (a) "Food service establishment" means a fixed or mobile restaurant, coffee shop, cafeteria, short-order cafe, luncheonette, grille, tearoom, sandwich shop, soda fountain, food store serving food or beverage samples, food or drink vending machine, tavern, bar, cocktail lounge, nightclub, industrial feeding establishment, catering kitchen, commissary, private organization routinely serving the public, or similar place where food or drink is prepared, served, or provided to the public with or without charge.

     (b)  The term does not include establishments, vendors, or vending machines that sell or serve only packaged, nonperishable foods in their unbroken, original containers or a private organization serving food only to its members.

     (c)  The term does not include an establishment, as defined in 50-51-102, that serves food only to its registered guests.

     (9)  (a) "Food warehouse" means a commercial establishment and buildings or structures in connection with it used to store food, drugs, or cosmetics for distribution to retail outlets.

     (b)  The term does not include a wine, beer, or soft drink warehouse that is separate from facilities where brewing occurs.

     (10) "Frozen food plant" means a place used to freeze, process, or store food, including facilities used in conjunction with the frozen food plant, and a place where individual compartments are offered to the public on a rental or other basis.

     (11) "Meat market" means a commercial establishment and buildings or structures in connection with it used to process, store, or display meat or meat products for sale to the public or for human consumption.

     (12) "Nonprofit organization" means any organization qualifying as a tax-exempt organization under 26 U.S.C. 501.

     (13) "Perishable food dealer" means a person or commercial establishment that is in the business of purchasing and selling perishable food to the public.

     (14) "Person" means a person, partnership, corporation, association, cooperative group, or other entity engaged in operating, owning, or offering services of an establishment.

     (15) (a) "Potentially hazardous food" means a food that is natural or synthetic and is in a form capable of supporting:

     (i)  the rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms; or

     (ii)  the growth and toxin production of Clostridium botulinum.

     (b)  The term includes cut melons, garlic and oil mixtures, a food of animal origin that is raw or heat-treated, and a food of plant origin that is heat-treated or consists of raw seed sprouts.

     (c)  The term does not include:

     (i)  an air-cooled, hard-boiled egg with intact shell;

     (ii) a food with a hydrogen ion concentration (pH) level of 4.6 or below when measured at 24 degrees C (75 degrees F);

     (iii) a food with a water activity (aw) value of 0.85 or less;

     (iv) a food in an unopened hermetically sealed container that is commercially processed to achieve and maintain commercial sterility under conditions of nonrefrigerated storage and distribution; or

     (v)  a food for which laboratory evidence is accepted by the department as demonstrating that rapid and progressive growth of infectious and toxigenic microorganisms or the slower growth of Clostridium botulinum cannot occur.

     (16) (a) "Preserves" means processed fruit or berry jams, jellies, compotes, fruit butters, marmalades, chutneys, fruit aspics, fruit syrups, or similar products that have a hydrogen ion concentration (pH) of 4.6 or below when measured at 24 degrees C (75 degrees F) and that are aseptically processed, packaged, and sealed.

     (b)  The term does not include:

     (i)  tomatoes or food products containing tomatoes; or

     (ii) any other food substrate or product preserved by any method other than that described in subsection (16)(a).

     (17) "Raw and unprocessed farm products" means fruits, vegetables, and grains sold at a farmer's market in their natural state that are not packaged and labeled and are not:

     (a)  cooked;

     (b)  canned;

     (c)  preserved, except for drying;

     (d)  combined with other food products; or

     (e)  peeled, diced, cut, blanched, or otherwise subjected to value-adding procedures.

     (18) "Water hauler" means a person engaged in the business of transporting water for human consumption and use and that is not regulated as a public water supply system as provided in Title 75, chapter 6. The term does not include a person engaged in the business of transporting water for human consumption that is used for individual family households and family farms and ranches."



     Section 2.  Water hauler requirements. As a requirement for licensure, a water hauler may obtain potable water only from an approved public water supply system, as defined in 75-6-102, or from sources approved and adopted by the department by rule.



     Section 3.  Codification instruction. [Section 2] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 50, chapter 50, part 2, and the provisions of Title 50, chapter 50, part 2, apply to [section 2].



     Section 4.  Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.

- END -




Latest Version of HB 218 (HB0218.ENR)
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