Nov. 8 webinar for specialty crop producers will detail liability under Arkansas Food Freedom Act
By Drew Viguet
National Agricultural Law Center
U of A System Division of Agriculture
October 24, 2023
Fast facts:
- Liability topic of first of three webinars about the Arkansas Food Freedom Act
- First webinar will be held Nov. 8, and two more coming in early 2024
- Registration is online
(378 words)
(Newsrooms: Graphic available for download)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — While food entrepreneurs enjoy the excitement of getting homemade
and home-grown food products to customers under the Arkansas Food Freedom Act, they
need to remember something equally important: liability.
“The Arkansas Food Freedom Act provides lots of opportunities for the state’s specialty
crop producers,” said Rusty Rumley, senior staff attorney for the National Agricultural
Law Center. “There are details producers need to be aware of, though, that impact
the way they prepare their products for sale.”
Rumley will give the first webinar of a three-part series with his presentation, “Liability
Issues with Food Processing Under the Arkansas Food Freedom Act.” The webinar will
be held Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 11 a.m. Central/noon Eastern. Registration is online and free of charge.
The National Agricultural Law Center and the University of Arkansas System Division
of Agriculture are facilitating the webinars which are designed for Arkansas specialty
crop producers. The presentations provide needed information on how to operate within
the Arkansas Food Freedom Act and are a continuation of the Plan. Produce. Profit. series.
The series is funded by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture through the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
Arkansas Food Freedom Act
Act 1040 of 2021, which became 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 allows 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.
The second and third webinars will be held in January and February 2024. Jeff Jackson
of the Arkansas Department of Health will present the January webinar. Renee Threlfall
of the Institute of Food Science and Engineering at the Division of Agriculture will
present the February webinar. Dates and details of these webinars will be available
on the NALC website.
For information about the National Agricultural Law Center, visit nationalaglawcenter.org or follow @Nataglaw on X. The National Agricultural Law Center is also on Facebook and LinkedIn.
For updates on agricultural law and policy developments, subscribe free of charge
to The Feed, the NALC’s newsletter highlighting recent legal developments facing agriculture,
which issues twice a month.
About the National Agricultural Law Center
The National Agricultural Law Center serves as the nation’s leading source of agricultural
and food law research and information. The NALC works with producers, state and federal
policymakers, Congressional staffers, attorneys, land grant universities, and many
others to provide objective, nonpartisan agricultural and food law research and information
to the nation’s agricultural community.
The NALC is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and
works in close partnership with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Agricultural
Library.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen
agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption
of best practices. The Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work
within the nation’s historic land grant education system through the Agricultural
Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas
System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity/equal
access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to
participate or need materials in another format, please contact dviguet@uark.edu as
soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.
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Media contact:
Drew Viguet
Communications & Special Projects Coordinator
National Agricultural Law Center
dviguet@uark.edu