Rule comments will be accepted up to two weeks after the last public hearing is held on this rule. Hearing dates will be scheduled after this rule is approved by the Governor and published in the Wisconsin State Journal.
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FINDING OF EMERGENCY
(1) An emergency rule is necessary to address the inequity in the licensing and inspection of bases supporting mobile restaurants and mobile retail food establishments. If approved, it will allow the Department to start the process of licensing and providing inspection services to the bases supporting mobile retail food establishments immediately, and would keep the inequity from being perpetuated in the merged rule that will go into effect on July 1, 2016.
(2) If the Department is not able to take this action now, the resulting inequality in licensing and inspection status will delay implementation of the legislative mandate to work toward a simplified and streamlined regulatory system for Wisconsin’s food industry. The proposed emergency rule will allow the Department to extend a licensing requirement to bases serving mobile retail food establishments and provide inspection services to those bases. This will create equal regulatory treatment of all bases serving mobile food businesses and decrease the likelihood of foodborne illness-related deficiencies in facility or practice occurring at a base associated with a mobile retail food establishment.
EMERGENCY RULE
Section 1. ATCP 75.01 (5m) and (9) are created to read:
(5m) “Mobile retail food establishment base” means a facility at which a mobile retail food establishment may, at minimum:
(a)
dispose of leftover food and waste water,(b)
replenish potable water, cleaned and sanitized equipment and utensils, food prepared on-site or at another source that complies with law, and other supplies;(c)
clean and sanitize as appropriate,(9) “Special event or temporary event” means a fair, carnival, circus, public exhibition, anniversary sale, occasional sales promotion, or community sponsored event that is open to the public for not more than 14 consecutive days.
Section 2. ATCP 75.03 (1) is amended to read:
(1) License Required. Except as provided under sub. (9), no person may operate a retail food establishment or a mobile retail food establishment base without a valid license issued by the department or an agent municipality or county. Licenses expire on June 30 annually. Except as specified in (a) - (d), each Each retail food establishment and each mobile retail food establishment base shall have a separate license, which shall be prominently displayed in the retail food establishment and at the mobile retail food establishment base. A license is not transferable between persons, or establishments, or mobile retail food establishment bases.
(a)
A mobile retail food establishment base license is not required if the same person holds a license for a mobile retail food establishment and holds a license for food storage, processing, or preparation activities at the establishment serving as the mobile retail food establishment base.(b)
An operator of a mobile retail food establishment operated in conjunction with a special or temporary event is not required to hold a license for a mobile retail food establishment base.(c)
If a person conducts food storage, processing, or preparation activities at a mobile retail food establishment base that are not covered under the activities of a mobile retail food establishment base as defined in sub. ATCP 75.01 (5m), that person shall obtain the appropriate license for the food storage, processing, or preparation activities, but is not required to obtain a mobile retail food establishment base license. (d)
A self-contained mobile retail food establishment, meeting the requirements in Chapter 9 in ATCP 75 appendix, may request a variance from the department from the requirement to be supported by a license mobile retail food establishment base license.Section 3. ATCP 75.03 (3) (d) is amended to read:
(d) For a retail food establishment that has annual sales of less than $25,000, and is engaged in food processing, or an establishment that must be licensed under sub. ATCP 75.03(1) as a mobile retail food establishment base, an annual license fee of $60.
Section 4. ATCP 75.03 (9) (i) is created to read:
(i) A mobile retail food establishment base that is exempted from a license specified under par. ATCP 75.03 (1) (c) is not exempt from meeting the requirements for the food storage, processing, or preparation activities conducted under the provisions of the exempted license.
Section 5. Effective Date: This emergency rule takes effect on July 1, 2016, and remains in effect for 150 days. The department may seek to extend this emergency rule as provided in s. 227.24, Stats. Dated this 3rd day of June, 2016.
WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
TRADE, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION.
Ben Brancel, Secretary
