Plan. Produce. Profit: An Overview of the Arkansas Food Freedom Act
Topic:
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the National Agricultural Law Center are facilitating three webinars, held in late 2023 and early 2024, as part of the Plan. Produce. Profit. series. Webinar participants will learn how to operate under the Arkansas Food Freedom Act for selling homemade food items to the public. Funding for these webinars is provided by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture through the USDA Specialty Crop Producers Program.
Jeff Jackson, Public Health Section Chief II with the Arkansas Department of Health, will present the second of the three webinars on January 10, 2024. The webinar is titled, “Plan. Produce. Profit: An Overview of the Arkansas Food Freedom Act.”
The third webinar will be held on February 14, 2024, and presented by Renee Threlfall, Research Scientist with the Food Science Department in the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The webinar is titled, “Plan. Produce. Profit: Creating and Processing Value-Added Food Products in Arkansas.”
The recording of the first webinar, which was presented by NALC Senior Staff Attorney Rusty Rumley and titled, “Plan. Produce. Profit: Liability Issues with Food Processing Under the Arkansas Food Freedom Act” is available here.
According to a fact sheet from the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Public Policy Center, Act 1040 of 2021 (otherwise 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 allowing 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.
Time and Date:
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Noon – 1 p.m. (EST)
11 a.m. – Noon (CST)
Participation:
Presenters:
Jeff Jackson has been employed by the Arkansas Department of Health since 2006 where he currently serves as the Standardization/Quality Assurance Officer for the Retail Food Program. In this position, he is responsible for the training and standardization of all retail food staff in the state, ensuring consistency within the Retail Food Program, as well as working to ensure conformance with the National Voluntary Retail Food Program Standards. He received his Bachelor of Science in Education (biology emphasis) from Arkansas State University in 2005 and a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Public Health from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2013. He was selected to Cohort 5 of the National Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute and was the 2017 recipient of the Mid-Continental Association of Food and Drug Officials Achievement Award.
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