Food and weed statutes updated

Two bills that make changes to state Department of Agriculture statutes were passed by the Legislature March 1.

Under LB771, introduced by Holdrege Sen. Tom Carlson, provisions of the 2009 Food Code are incorporated into the Nebraska Pure Food Act.

Provisions of the Food Code added to the Nebraska Pure Food Act:
• require that the person in charge of a food establishment demonstrate knowledge of food safety risks and mitigation;
• provide a consumer advisory regarding risks of consuming raw or undercooked meat;
• establish standards for preventing food contamination by hand;
• establish time and temperature standards for cooking animal foods; and
• require that new dishwashers be equipped with automatic detergent and sanitizer dispensers.

LB770, also introduced by Carlson, clarifies the definition of noxious weeds used in the Nebraska Seed Law.

The bill removes the specific names of noxious weeds and instead refers to the “seeds of noxious weeds, as noxious weeds are designated in the Noxious Weed Control Act.”

Both bills were passed 49-0.