Summary — HB 6129 (Food Law Amendments)
Status & Sponsors
- Introduced: November 14, 2024 (sponsors: Rep. Stephanie A. Young; Rep. Veronica Paiz also listed)
- Amends: 2000 PA 92 (“Food law”), specifically sections 2105, 2111, 2132, 3115, 4103, and 6135 (MCL 289.2105, .2111, .2132, .3115, .4103, .6135)
- Legislative status: Passed House (Dec. 13–18, 2024, immediate effect); transmitted and referred to Senate committees (Government Operations; later referred to Joint Committee on Housing, Jan. 22, 2025).
Purpose
HB 6129 updates enforcement, inspection, record-access, and operational requirements under Michigan’s Food Law to (1) strengthen protections for proprietary food-safety materials, (2) modernize inspection/evaluation practices, and (3) revise definitions and requirements affecting food establishments (including mobile vendors) and food-allergen labeling.
Key provisions and changes
- FOIA exemption for food-safety plan materials
- Records provided by a food establishment in connection with developing, implementing, or verifying a food safety plan or practice are exempt from disclosure under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act.
- If such records are released to a legislative body, identifying information must be removed.
- The exemption does not apply to information already required to be collected, maintained, or reported to a state agency (by statute, rule, permit, consent order, etc.).
Expanded MDARD cooperation authorities
- Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD) may enter agreements with state agencies, colleges, universities, and associations (in addition to other states and federal government) to implement the Food Law and provide/receive food-safety assistance and training.
Inspection → Evaluation language; temporary/low‑risk flexibility
- Local health departments: when reviewing license applications, required “inspections” are recast as “evaluations.”
- For temporary food establishments serving only “low-risk” food, a local health department may, based on a public-health risk assessment, perform an in‑office consultation (education + operational review) instead of an on‑site evaluation.
Mobile food establishment requirements
- Applications must include a route schedule and hours/dates of service per location.
- Mobile units must carry an approved menu and standard operating procedures (SOPs) at all times.
- If operating across jurisdictional boundaries, the mobile establishment must provide each jurisdiction’s local health department or MDARD with locations, dates, and hours at least 4 days before preparing/serving food in that jurisdiction.
Definitions and labeling changes
- Adds a statutory definition of “major food allergen,” consistent with federal 21 U.S.C. 343(w), listing milk; eggs; fish; crustacean shellfish; tree nuts; wheat; peanuts; soybeans; sesame; and derived-protein ingredients (with federal exemptions for highly refined oils).
- Expands “misbranded” to include failure to declare a major food allergen (and noncompliant shell-egg labeling under existing state section 7114).
- Revises “low-risk food” definition to hinge on time/temperature control requirements per the Food Code.
- Defines “premises” to clarify facility and contiguous property scope, including when a food establishment is part of a larger operation (e.g., hospitals, hotels, schools, prisons).
Certified Food Protection Manager requirements
- Requires retail food establishments rated medium or high risk under MDARD policy to employ a certified food protection manager.
- Establishments that were previously exempt before the 2017 Food Code incorporation get 1 year after the bill’s effective date to obtain a manager; all newly required establishments have up to 2 years to comply with updated section 2-102.12 provisions of the federal Food Code.
- MDARD may grant statewide variances (to groups or individual establishments) to modify or waive requirements related to the certified manager.
Retention/adoption of Food Code chapters
- Continues adoption of Chapters 1–8 of the federal Food Code while amending specific sections to preserve existing state programs (e.g., mushroom identification certification).
Who is affected
- Food establishments of all types (restaurants, retail food stores, mobile vendors, temporary food booths)
- Local health departments (inspection/evaluation procedures; licensure workflows)
- MDARD (expanded cooperative authority; variance authority)
- Legislators and public requesters (re: FOIA exemptions)
- Consumers, particularly those with food-allergen concerns (via labeling changes)
Procedural/timeline notes
- House passed the bill with immediate effect in December 2024; the measure was transmitted to the next-stage committees (Government Operations; later referred to a joint committee).
- Where timelines for compliance are specified: 1 year for previously exempt establishments to employ a certified manager; 2 years to meet updated Food Code manager provisions (both counted from the bill’s effective date).
Overall effect
HB 6129 modernizes administrative and operational aspects of Michigan’s Food Law—tightening protection for proprietary food-safety documentation, clarifying responsibilities for mobile and temporary operations, aligning definitions with the federal Food Code and federal allergen law, and expanding MDARD’s cooperative tools — while preserving core state public-health programs.
