By Drew Viguet
National Agricultural Law Center
U of A System Division of Agriculture
The Arkansas Food Freedom Act opens increased opportunities for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, but those who create food and drink items must be sure they’re legal to sell under the act.
The popularity of homemade goods, also known as “cottage foods,” has seen a significant uptick in the last two decades, according to the Food Law and Policy Clinic at the Harvard Law School.
“The rising demand for locally produced food in the United States has fueled a dramatic increase in small-scale food production in recent years,” the clinic said in its publication “Cottage Food Laws in the United States.” “Locally produced food sales totaled at least $12 billion in 2014, up from $5 billion in 2008, and are expected to continue to grow to $20 billion by 2019. Much of this locally produced food is sold at farmers markets, which have also increased dramatically, by 134 percent between 2004 and 2016.”
“Arkansas producers are able to sell certain home-processed food items to the public without inspection from the Arkansas Department of Health,” said Jeff Jackson, public health section chief II with the Arkansas Department of Health. “While this will present opportunities for Arkansas producers, the details of the Arkansas Food Freedom Act should be clearly understood to ensure that food entrepreneurs know which items are eligible for sale and which are not.”
Act 1040 of 2021, which became known as the Arkansas Food Freedom Act, allows Arkansas residents to sell more types of homemade food and drink products in more locations than before, and allows direct sales of certain homemade food and drink products that do not require time or temperature controls to remain safe. Some products, such as pickles, salsas, and canned vegetables, may require pH testing or preapproved recipes.
Understanding the Law
On Jan. 10, Jackson will present “An Overview of the Arkansas Food Freedom Act.” The webinar will be held at 11 a.m. Central/noon Eastern. Registration is free.
The webinar is the second in a three-part series called “Plan. Produce. Profit,” which provides needed information to specialty crop producers on how to operate within the Arkansas Food Freedom Act.
The third “Plan. Produce. Profit.” webinar will be held on Feb. 14. Renee Threlfall of the Institute of Food Science and Engineering at the Division of Agriculture will present the webinar, titled “Creating and Processing Value-Added Food Products in Arkansas.” Registration is available online.
The first webinar, “Liability Issues with Food Processing Under the Arkansas Food Freedom Act,” was presented by NALC Senior Staff Attorney Rusty Rumley. The recording of the presentation is available online.
The National Agricultural Law Center and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture are facilitating the webinars which are designed for Arkansas specialty crop producers.
The series is funded by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture through the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
For information about the National Agricultural Law Center, visit nationalaglawcenter.org or follow @Nataglaw on X. The National Agricultural Law Center is also on Facebook and LinkedIn.
For updates on agricultural law and policy developments, subscribe free of charge to The Feed, the NALC’s newsletter highlighting recent legal developments facing agriculture, which issues twice a month.
About the National Agricultural Law Center
The National Agricultural Law Center serves as the nation’s leading source of agricultural and food law research and information. The NALC works with producers, state and federal policymakers, Congressional staffers, attorneys, land grant universities, and many others to provide objective, nonpartisan agricultural and food law research and information to the nation’s agricultural community.
The NALC is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and works in close partnership with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Agricultural Library.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. The Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, please contact [email protected] as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.
