To: James C. Duffy, Whiteside County Board Chairman, Glen Truesdell, Whiteside County Board Vice-Chairman, and Karen Nelson, Whiteside County Health & Social Services Chairwoman

Whiteside County Adoption of the HB5354 (The Cupcake Law)

We the residents of Whiteside County, IL demand that the Whiteside County Board adopt and adhere to the language as stipulated in "IL Public Act 098-0643 HB5354 Enrolled LRB098 19952 RPM 55177 b" commonly known as the Cupcake Law, which was signed into law by Governor Quinn in June of 2014.
Attached: CUPCAKE LAW:
Public Act 098-0643
HB5354 Enrolled LRB098 19952 RPM 55177 b
AN ACT concerning public health.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act is
amended by adding Section 3.4 as follows:
(410 ILCS 625/3.4 new)
Sec. 3.4. Home kitchen operation.
(a) For the purpose of this Section, "home kitchen
operation" means a person who produces or packages
non-potentially hazardous food in a kitchen of that person's
primary domestic residence for direct sale by the owner or a
family member, or for sale by a religious, charitable, or
nonprofit organization, stored in the residence where the food
is made. The following conditions must be met in order to
qualify as a home kitchen operation:
(1) Monthly gross sales do not exceed $1,000.
(2) The food is not a potentially hazardous baked food,
as defined in Section 4 of this Act.
(3) A notice is provided to the purchaser that the
product was produced in a home kitchen.
(b) The Department of Public Health or the health
department of a unit of local government may inspect a home
kitchen operation in the event of a complaint or disease
outbreak.
(c) This Section applies only to a home kitchen operation
located in a municipality, township, or county where the local
governing body has adopted an ordinance authorizing the direct
sale of baked goods as described in Section 4 of this Act.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
Effective Date: 6/10/2014

Why is this important?

In previous legislation, the State of Illinois has outlined the specific language and parameters for home-based bakers. The Cottage Law stipulates all baked goods allowed and deemed safe and all baked goods not allowed such as creamed pies as one an example. The home baked items have already cleared all food safety hurdles determined by health and food safety professionals. These pre-qualified home baked items are allowed to be sold at Farmers Markets statewide, including in Whiteside County. Home bakers provide high quality and innovative products which should make our rural communities proud and more inviting. The Cupcake Law provides a cap of $1,000 of, direct, home sales per month for the home baker. This cap prevents undue competition to the professional bakery. The products our home bakers make available are in many ways superior to that which is available to the residents of rural Whiteside Co Communities. Home bakers are able to use higher quality product while taking more time to prepare and provide for specific dietary needs on demand. Home bakers are committed to the quality of their products, ingredients and committed to food safety and sanitation. Many IL businesses start small and out of a home. Squelching entrepreneurship is counterproductive to the heart of small business. HB5354 must be adopted by Whiteside County to keep this spirit alive in IL.