WEST virginia legislature
2026 regular session
Committee Substitute
for
Senate Bill 44
By Senators Rucker, Thorne, and Deeds
[Reported February 24, 2026, from the Committee on Health and Human Resources]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new article, designated, §19-40-1, §19-40-2, §19-40-3, §19-40-4, §19-40-5, §19-40-6, and §19-40-7, relating to the sale of homemade food items; defining terms; requiring vendors of potentially hazardous cottage foods to obtain permit; establishing list of vendors exempt from obtaining a potentially hazardous cottage food vendor permit; requiring department to establish the conditions and procedures for issuance of cottage food vendor permits; permitting local health department in the jurisdiction in which the cottage food vendor is located to invoke a cessation of production in specified circumstances; requiring rulemaking; granting the Department of Agriculture jurisdiction over homemade potentially hazardous cottage foods sold in West Virginia; and granting exemption to vendor engaged in production or sale of nonpotentially hazardous foods.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
(1) Small-scale, home-based food production provides meaningful economic opportunity for residents of this state, particularly in rural communities;
(2) Encouraging locally grown and raised food is important to the health and welfare of the citizens of West Virginia.
(b) It is the purpose of this article:
(1) To reduce barriers on participants producing, preparing, and selling certain foods from their residence and elsewhere within West Virginia;
(2) To encourage the growth of the local food industry in West Virginia;
(3) To authorize the production and direct-to-consumer sale of certain cottage food products manufactured from a home kitchen within the State of West Virginia;
(4) To remove the fee from the West Virginia farmers market vendor permit to ensure that farmers market vendors of potentially hazardous products are not put at a disadvantage by requiring a fee, while manufacturers selling similar products from home are not required to pay a fee.
“Acidified food” means a low-acid food item to which acid or acid foods are added with a water activity of greater than 0.85 and a finished equilibrium of pH 4.6 or below. Acidified foods are considered potentially hazardous foods.
“Cottage foods” means a food item intended for human consumption that is produced and, if packaged, packaged at the residential property of the producer and sold directly to a consumer. The term includes nonpotentially hazardous foods and certain allowed potentially hazardous goods as provided in this article. The term excludes meat, meat products, poultry, poultry products, seafood, and Grade A dairy products.
“Cottage food vendor” means a home-based business producing and selling certain foods directly from their homes.
“Delivered” means transferred to the consumer, either immediately upon sale or at a time thereafter.
“Department” means the Department of Agriculture.
“Grade A dairy products” means milk and milk products that are manufactured in accordance with the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, 2023 Revision, as published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Food and Drug Administration.
“Nonpotentially hazardous cottage food” means a food item that does not require time or temperature control for safety to limit pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation.
“Potentially hazardous cottage food” means a food item that requires time or temperature control or other protocols for safety to limit pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation and is made from a home kitchen.
“Potentially hazardous cottage food vendor permit” means a permit which allows certain potentially hazardous cottage foods to be made in a home kitchen and sold directly to the consumer.
"To produce” means to prepare a food item by cooking, baking, drying, mixing, cutting, fermenting, preserving, dehydrating, growing, raising, or other process.
“Producer” means the person who produces a homemade cottage food item.
“Retailer” means and includes every person engaging in the business of selling, leasing, or renting tangible personal property.
“Seller” means the person who sells a nonpotentially hazardous food item to a consumer. The seller of the nonpotentially hazardous food item may be the producer of the item, an agent of the producer, or a third-party vendor, such as a retail shop or grocery store.
(3) Vendors selling other farm and food products that are identified by the department.
(e) The department shall establish the conditions and procedures for issuance of cottage food vendor permits. As a condition of obtaining a potentially hazardous cottage food vendor permit, a vendor may be required to satisfy additional requirements, including, but not limited to, submitting to inspections, and obtaining and maintaining certain additional licenses or certifications.