ROCKFORD — Gov. Pat Quinn signed the so-called “cupcake bill” into law this week, but Winnebago and Boone county residents may not want to start selling baked goods just yet.
The bill allows individuals to run “home baking operations,” defined as a person who produces and stores non-potentially hazardous foods in a home kitchen for direct sale, with little government interference.
The issue drew the attention of the General Assembly after Madison County health officials shut down a $200-a-month, home-based business run by 12-year-old Chloe Stirling, who produced cupcakes for friends and fundraisers.
The new law states that local health departments “may inspect a home kitchen operation in the event of a complaint or disease.” The measure also allows people to bake and sell foods without installing separate facilities or obtaining a permit.
“It’s highly concerning that the health department has no right to inspect (home baking operations) until after there is an outbreak,” Winnebago County Public Facilities Supervisor Lisa Sprecher said.
The measure makes clear, however, that local governments are not required to incorporate its language into food regulation ordinances, so current requirements in place for home-based baking operations may not change here.
“At this point it doesn’t really affect much,” Sprecher said.
Currently in Winnebago County, residents must install a separate kitchen if they wish to bake commercially from home to prevent contamination from pets, children and unclean cooking habits. Home bakers also must obtain a special permit from the county if their neighborhood is not zoned for residential and commercial use.
Lack of inspections will lead to an increase in the spread of food-related illnesses, warns Boone County Environmental Health Director Bill Hatfield.
“Somebody is going to get sick and somebody is going to die, and then there’s going to be an uproar,” he said.
Sprecher said the bill was unfair to people who already have spent thousands of dollars complying with current regulations.
“The people who have gone out of their way to do it right in the past, it’s kind of a slap in the face to them,” Sprecher said.
There are three home-baking operations currently operating in Winnebago County and six commercial bakeries that began as home operations, Sprecher said.
Bakeries in Winnebago County are inspected at least once as a preventive measure. Bakeries typically are considered “medium-risk” facilities by health inspectors, Sprecher said, but can be considered “high-risk” if they produce things like cheesecakes and custard pies.
Mike Bacon, the former Winnebago County Health Department administrator, retired May 30.
Hatfield said he is still waiting for the county state’s attorney to clarify what, if anything, the bill requires county government to do.
Hatfield and Sprecher expressed confusion at the content of the new state law.
The bill states that in order to qualify as a “home baking operation,” sales must not exceed $1,000 a month, and the baker must notify customers that the products were produced in a home kitchen.
“Who will enforce that?” Sprecher asked. “That’s a huge question.”
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