▶ Reprinted from March 31, 2000 Wis. Adm. Register.
The State of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announces that it will hold public hearings on the proposed repeal and recreation of chapter ATCP 75, Wisconsin Administrative Code, relating to Retail Food Establishments. Included in the revisions is the adoption of the “Wisconsin Food Code" as Appendix A. The hearings will be held at the times and places shown below. The public is invited to attend the hearings and make comments on the proposed rule. Following the public hearings, the hearing record will remain open until May 15, 2000, for additional written comments. The hearings will be held in conjunction with hearings held by the Department of Health and Family Services, which has proposed the repeal and recreation of its rule for restaurants (chapter HFS 196). The DHFS rule includes the identical “Wisconsin Food Code" as appendix A to its proposed rule.
A copy of this rule may be obtained free of charge, from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Division of Food Safety, 2811 Agriculture Drive, P.O. Box 8911, Madison WI 53708, or by calling (608) 224-4700. Copies will also be available at the public hearings.
An interpreter for the hearing impaired will be available on request for these hearings. Please make reservations for a hearing interpreter by April 10, 2000, either in writing to Debbie Mazanec, 2811 Agriculture Drive, P.O. Box 8911, Madison WI 53708, (608) 224-4712, or by contacting the message relay system (TTY) at (608) 266-4399 to forward your call to the department at (608) 224-5058. Handicap access is available at all locations for the hearings.
Hearing Information
Five hearings are scheduled:
April 25, 2000 Eau Claire
Tuesday Eau Claire Health Department
9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Room G 30-31
720 Second Avenue
Eau Claire WI 54703
Handicapped accessible through front door.
April 27, 2000 Appleton
Thursday Appleton Public Library
9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Lower Level
125 N Oneida Street
Appleton WI 54911
Handicapped accessible through front door.
April 28, 2000 Milwaukee
Friday Milwaukee Health Department
9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Northwest Health Center
Basement Conference Room
7630 W. Mill Road
Milwaukee WI 53218
Handicapped accessible front door.
The hearing is scheduled for video-conference participation from each of the five locations shown below.
May 2, 2000
Tuesday
9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Madison
Wis. Department of Agriculture,
Trade and Consumer Protection
Prairie Oak State Office Building
Room 472
2811 Agriculture Drive
Madison WI 53718
Handicapped accessible through front door.
(Note: A live hearing is also scheduled in Madison on May 5, 2000.)
LaCrosse
LaCrosse State Office Building
Room B-29
3550 Morman Coulee Road
LaCrosse WI 54601
Handicapped accessible through front door.
Wisconsin Rapids State Office Bldg
2610 Industrial Street
Conference Room #4
Wisconsin Rapids WI 54495
Handicapped accessible through front door.
Department of Transportation –
Superior
1701 N. 4th Street
Conference Room
Superior WI 54880
Handicapped accessible through front door.
Rhinelander
DNR Northcentral Regional
Headquarters
107 Sutliff Avenue, Room #1
Rhinelander WI 54501
Handicapped accessible through front door.
May 5, 2000 Madison
Friday Wis. Department of Agriculture,
9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Trade and Consumer Protection
(Prairie Oak State Office Building)
Conference Room 106
(Board Room)
2811 Agriculture Drive
Madison WI 53718
Handicapped accessible through front door.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Statutory Authority: ss. 93.07(1), 97.30(5) and 227.14(1s), Stats., as created by s. 2355mm., 1999 Wis.Act 9
Statute Interpreted: s. 97.30
This rule repeals and recreates current rules related to retail food establishments, such as grocery stores. The department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (“DATCP") licenses and inspects retail food establishments under s. 97.30, Stats.
Uniform Rules Based on Model Food Code
Many retail food establishments also include restaurants, and vice-versa. The department of health and family services (“DHFS") licenses and inspects restaurants under s. 254.64., Stats. DATCP and DHFS now coordinate their activities so that a combined grocery store and restaurant is licensed and inspected by DATCP or DHFS, but not both. In metropolitan areas, agent counties or municipalities often license and inspect grocery stores and restaurants as agents of DATCP and DHFS.
Although DATCP and DHFS have coordinated their activities to avoid duplicate licensing and inspection, they still enforce somewhat different rules. This makes it difficult to administer a coordinated program, and makes it difficult for food businesses to comply. The current rules of both agencies are also outdated in certain respects.
DATCP and DHFS are therefore proposing uniform rules for retail food establishments. DATCP is proposing this rule for retail food establishments, while DHFS is proposing a nearly identical rule for restaurants. The proposed rule is based on the 1999 model food code published by the United States food and drug administration (FDA). The model food code is applicable to retail food establishments as well as restaurants. The FDA has recommended that state and local governments adopt the model food code. The model food code is based on the best science currently available to FDA.
