In her spare time, Representative Deborah Aylward loves to cook and bake. Formerly the manager of her family’s retail/wholesale bakery in Virginia, she produced Hopkinson State Fair “Best in Show’ award-winning gourmet brownies that sparked her interest in the regulation of homemade foods in New Hampshire. Her residential kitchen became licensed through the Dept. of Health and Human Services (required at the time) and she went on to vend her products at various farmers’ and other markets.
Most recently, Aylward assisted her friend, Barbie, with starting her own homemade food business that has become very successful. In the process, she discovered a ‘double standard’ lurking in the laws governing homemade foods, whereby non-profits are exempt from food service licensure when it comes to sales of ‘potentially hazardous’ foods produced in residential kitchens and served at community functions, such as church bake sales, community dinners and other public events. A good example is pumpkin pie, the filling of which is ‘custard’ (i.e. made with milk and eggs, then baked) and must be kept refrigerated.
Currently, homemade food producers are prohibited from selling non-shelf stable foods, even though studies have shown that homemade foods are ‘inherently’ safe. Aylward believes it makes no sense to prohibit a person from making pumpkin pies, for example, in their residential kitchen, and selling them for a profit from their residence or at a vending event, when they are being sold by non-profits state wide — without regulation, and no evidence of food borne illnesses reported to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Subsequently becoming a state representative, Aylward introduced HB 1685 (https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billinfo.aspx?id=1525&inflect=2) to de-regulate the homemade food industry governed under RSA 143-A, with assistance of the Institute of Justice that has helped get Food Freedom laws passed in numerous other states. An almost identical bill was introduced in the Environment and Agriculture Committee by Representative and Committee Member, Matthew Coulon, and from which a small, but significant victory was achieved. After vastly educating and increasing committee members’ awareness about the ‘reality of the marketplace’ where ‘black market’ foods are indeed being sold, now known as the ‘Pickle Bill”, once signed into law, currently prohibited ‘acidified’ foods (e.g. processed pickled foods) will be allowed to be produced in residential kitchens without licensure.
Aylward’s bill was allowed to die in committee, to allow for a bi-partisan-supported study in the interim to arrive to a solution of making homemade food regulation more fair and reasonable, while assuring the foods are safe. Aylward believes this could be achieved by requiring training and certification in food safety.
“We need to reform our laws to provide for food diversity, new business opportunities, and the delivery of wholesome, nutritious foods, especially in rural areas where many working, traveling people, for example, seem to subsist on ‘grab-and-go’ foods, such as convenience store donuts, pizza, or hot dogs, with such less-than-nutritious foods being the only fare offered for miles around” said Aylward.
“There are exceptional home cooks who could easily produce small-batch, delicious meals in their home kitchens, that can be sold to neighbors, friends, co-workers, or vended at events where they can develop a following, while making a tidy profit. We need to pave the way for Granite Staters to get on the Food Freedom bandwagon. I believe the way to achieve this goal is to create a reasonably priced training course aimed at home cooks that focuses on proper sanitation and proper food handling. The masses consume foods made in residential kitchens everyday, and without incident. It is unfair to restrict home cooks and bakers to making only bread, cakes, cookies and pies, of which you can only eat so many!” Aylward continued.
Food Safety Subcommittee members are: Rep Aron, Rep. Bixby, Rep. Coulon, Rep. Comtois, Rep. Sofikitis, and Rep Murray, who are seeking input over the summer. Parties interested in helping to create a brand new food industry in New Hampshire, who recognize the potential for small business start ups the proceeds from which could assist with defraying the high cost of living, for example, are urged to contact Committee Chair, Judy Aron (Judy.Aron@leg.state.nh.us) or other committee members to express their support.
Rep. Deborah Aylward is a native of Washington, D.C., who now resides in Danbury, is a citizen activist and state lawmaker representing Merrimack, District 5 towns (Andover, Danbury, Hill, Salisbury, and Webster).
