WILD GAME SAUSAGE H.B. 5195 (H-2):
SUMMARY OF HOUSE-PASSED BILL
IN COMMITTEE
House Bill 5195 (Substitute H-2 as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Andrea LaFontaine
CONTENT
The bill would amend provisions of the Food Law that govern the ingredients and preparation of sausage to do the following:
-- Require that a consumer be given a written advisory if sausage contained wild game from more than one animal.
-- Require wild game sausage to be identified by the species contained in the product.
-- Require physical separation of certain foods during the storage and processing of raw wild game.
Currently, sausage containing wild game and made on commercial order must be labeled "not for sale". Wild game from more than one owner cannot be mixed into wild game sausage unless a licensed processor butchered all of the wild game.
The bill specifies if wild game that was not butchered by a licensed food establishment were made into wild game sausage that contained wild game from more than one owner, the final consumer would have to be provided with a written advisory. The advisory would have to state that the sausage was made from multiple wild game sources that had not receive a whole carcass examination by a licensed food establishment. The advisory text size would need to be at least 11-point font in a color that provided clear contrast to the background.
The Food Law requires a processor to reject any carcass that shows evidence of spoilage or contamination. The Law also requires that wild game, wild game product, and processing times must be kept separate from other meats and meat processing. The bill specifies, instead, that the following categories of foods would have to be kept physically separate during storage and could not be processed, prepared, or held simultaneously in the same space:
-- Raw wild game butchered by a licensed food establishment.
-- Raw wild game from sources other than a licensed food establishment, except when added to raw wild game butchered by a licensed food establishment.
-- All other foods, except for foods that would be added as ingredients to raw wild game during final product preparation.
The bill also would require a person preparing wild game sausage to comply with one of the following requirements: a) food contact surfaces would have to be thoroughly washed, rinsed, and sanitized between the processing of raw wild game butchered by a licensed food establishment, raw wild game not butchered by a licensed food establishment, and any
other food, or b) processing would have to be done in the following order: foods other than raw wild game, raw wild game butchered by a licensed food processor, raw wild game not butchered by a licensed food establishment. After sequential processing, food contact surfaces would have to be thoroughly washed, rinsed, and sanitized.
MCL 289.7115 Legislative Analyst: Jeff Mann
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government.
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.