Re: Food Service at Farmers’ Markets
Dear Market Masters and Farmers’ Market Vendors:
There is a whole lot going on at our local farmers’ markets these days and we are all hoping that the 2008 market season is busy, fun and safe. Because of the great variety of food vending occurring at the modern farmers’ market, the Eastern Highlands Health District (EHHD) has a role to play in helping to keep these events safe by ensuring that certain foods and beverages offered for sale to the public at these events are properly prepared and handled prior to serving. The local health district is responsible for licensing and inspecting any establishment, including a temporary food service establishment, that prepares or offers food and or drink to the public, for consumption on or off-site. Because farmers’ markets are regulated as temporary food service establishments per the Connecticut Public Health Code section 19-13-B42(a)(14), the health district will require a Temporary Food Service License for any farmer or vendor preparing or serving food or beverages for immediate consumption at the market.
Temporary food service licenses are required to ensure food safety and conformance with existing regulations. Not all market vendors will be required to obtain a temporary food service license, however, anyone preparing or serving food on-site, including cutting produce, preparing samples for customers, preparing sandwiches, cooking, etc., will need a health district license. Temporary licenses will not be issued for foods processed or prepared in home kitchens. With few exceptions, additional licenses and inspections are required from either the EHHD or other regulatory authorities for these off-site activities.
Please note that Market Masters are not responsible for obtaining licenses for vendors. The individual vendor is responsible for obtaining all required licenses and inspections from any regulatory authority.
Applications and guidelines for temporary food service events are available at our health district offices and can be downloaded from our website at www.ehhd.org . A temporary license fee of $40.00 will be required for each commercial food vendor and will cover fourteen consecutive market days.
We encourage you to apply for your Temporary Food Service License two weeks prior to your first event to allow time for review and the inevitable question or two. There is no guarantee that a review can be completed if submitted later than two weeks prior to the event. If you have any questions, please call Jeff Polhemus, Chief Sanitarian, in the health district Mansfield office at (860) 429-3325.
Sincerely,
Robert Miller, MPH, RS
Director of Health
Other Resources: Attached please find the Food Safety Guidelines for Farmers’ Markets from the Connecticut Department of Public Health, which helps explain the Health Code requirements and provides guidance for running a safe market. The more comprehensive Farmers’ Market Reference Guide is available on line at www.CTGrown.com from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture as a helpful resource of regulations and guidelines for all market masters, farmers, food vendors and anyone else interested in marketing food beyond the vine.
Policy #5-15-2008