Retail sales of maple syrup in Illinois are under the jurisdiction of state or local health departments and regulations modeled on the FDA Food Code. Maple syrup sold at retail must originate in a facility subject to FDA or state inspection. Maple syrup is not one of the foods exempted from food processing rules via the Illinois Cottage Food Bill. Illinois does not license food processing plants. Production of maple syrup for wholesale is done in facilities subject to state rules that largely adopt FDA regulations.
Michigan licenses maple syrup producers who sell their product wholesale but does not require a retail food establishment license for sales of maple syrup made by a licensed producer. Maple syrup producers in Michigan can qualify for a cottage foods exemption from the food licensing requirement. Maple syrup producers who meet licensing exemptions (less than $15,000 annually in sales) must follow the same labeling requirements for their maple syrup as those outlined for other cottage food products. Michigan requires the label to read "Processed in a facility not inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development," and processing maple syrup in a home kitchen for sale is not allowed. Maple syrup producers who are eligible for the licensing exemptions still must meet all requirements of the Michigan Food Law, including sanitation, building construction and design, and employee hygiene.
Iowa considers maple syrup an agricultural commodity, and thus not subject to state inspection. Notwithstanding, Iowa food processing plant regulations largely cite FDA rules. Iowa also exempts cottage food operations from licensing requirements.
In Minnesota, a license is required to legally sell maple syrup to the public unless all sap is obtained from the maple syrup producer’s land and no other “off farm” inputs are used in making the product (e.g., sap from neighbors’ trees). However, all maple syrup operations selling to the public are subject to inspection by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Labeling requirements for maple syrup are the same as for other foods under Minnesota jurisdiction.
Summary of Factual Data and Analytical Methodologies
This emergency rule adopts the provisions of the proposed permanent rule for revising ATCP 87. During the permanent rulemaking process, rule revisions were developed in response to requests from the Wisconsin maple syrup industry and after a review of existing Wisconsin rules and internal policies for inspection of maple syrup processing operations and rules in other leading maple syrup states (Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, Maine, and Ohio. Department staff with experience in food processing plant inspection, or supervision thereof, provided formative input to the drafting of the permanent rule.
Analysis and Supporting Documents used to Determine Effect on Small Business
During the permanent rulemaking process, recent inspection results and photographs taken during inspections at a wide range of maple syrup operations were evaluated in considering the effect of the proposed rule on small business. Comments from attendees at hearings held for the permanent rule proposal were also carefully considered.
Effect on Small Business
Department inspections of maple syrup concentration facilities, i.e., “sugar houses,” have proven challenging over the years. The major end product at most of these facilities (maple syrup) is not potentially hazardous, and the perishable raw material (maple sap) is exposed to the heat of boiling, which destroys microbes. Thus there is little concern about microbial food safety hazards in relation to the process. However, many facilities are in remote locations and there is a small, but real, risk of product contamination related to characteristics of the facility, e.g., pests, pieces of wood, or characteristics of equipment, e.g. chemical contaminants from non-food-grade equipment used in harvesting, transporting, or concentrating maple sap. This situation makes rigorous compliance with, and enforcement of, all requirements of ATCP 70 (Food Processing Plants) difficult for the maple syrup industry and the Department, respectively. Most facilities already meet the requirements of this rule, so this rule will have little effect on most of the industry. Small businesses holding a food processing plant license that do not currently meet the proposed facility requirements for maple syrup operations may face some facility-upgrade costs, particularly the installation of a three-compartment sink necessary for effective cleaning, rinsing, and sanitizing equipment, and any upgrades in areas of their facility in which finished syrup is stored and packaged. Businesses processing maple-derived water or maple sap water may face facility-upgrade costs. This emergency rule will not have a significant adverse economic effect on “small business.”
DATCP Contact
Peter Haase, Director
Bureau of Food and Recreational Businesses
Division of Food and Recreational Safety
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
P.O. Box 8911
Madison, WI 53708-8911
Telephone: (608) 224-4711
FINDING OF EMERGENCY
(1) The department is currently in the final stages of promulgating a permanent rule that will harmonize Wisconsin’s outdated maple syrup grade standards with new standards recently adopted by the federal government and several other leading maple syrup states. The proposed permanent rule will clarify food processing plant requirements for maple syrup production facilities and allow Wisconsin maple syrup producers to develop new maple syrup products. The permanent rule revision was developed in consultation with Wisconsin’s maple syrup industry and is strongly supported by Wisconsin maple syrup producers. The permanent rule will not be finalized in time for the 2017 maple syrup season.
(2) Failing to implement the standards, even for one season, will negatively impact Wisconsin’s $7,000,000 maple syrup industry. Failure to implement the new standards for the 2017 season will prevent Wisconsin producers from competing under the same rules recently adopted by their competition in other states and internationally.
(3) Failing to adopt this emergency rule will also mean that Wisconsin’s producers will operate under standards that classify what has recently become a popular maple syrup product as “manufacturing grade,” diminishing its value, and reducing the potential income of Wisconsin’s maple syrup producers. Consumer tastes for new and different flavors are reflected in the growing popularity of darker-colored, stronger flavored maple syrup which is currently classified as manufacturing grade under Wisconsin’s current standards. By creating a Grade A option for this syrup, consistent with standards adopted in other states, the new standards will remove a grading stigma against this increasingly popular product.
(4) In today’s marketplace, many consumers care about a food’s origin and prefer locally produced items. They also seek accurate descriptions of the products they purchase. Immediate implementation of the new Wisconsin maple syrup grade standards allows maple syrup producers to present the Wisconsin “brand” and descriptive color and flavor information to consumers in the same format as available to maple syrup producers in competing states.
(5) Wisconsin’s maple syrup producers’ financial success is highly concentrated in a short tapping, processing, and packaging season – often only three or four weeks long – which will begin shortly. This emergency rule is essential for protecting the financial welfare of Wisconsin’s maple syrup producers.
Emergency rule
Section 1. ATCP 70.04 (18) is created to read:
ATCP 70.04 (18) Maple sap concentration facilities. A facility licensed as a food processing plant and used solely for concentration of maple sap shall meet the requirements of s. ATCP 87.14. Section 2. ATCP 70.05 (1) is renumbered ATCP 70.05 (1) (a).
Section 3. ATCP 70.05. (1) (title) is repealed and recreated to read:
ATCP 70.05. (1) General.
Section 4. ATCP 70.05 (1) (b) is created to read:
ATCP 70.05 (1) (b) Par. (a) does not apply to a maple sap concentration facility licensed as a food processing plant that is required to meet the provisions of s. ATCP 87.28. Section 5. ATCP 70.06 (1) is renumbered ATCP 70.06 (1) (a).
Section 6. ATCP 70.06 (1) (b) is created to read:
ATCP 70.06 (1) (b) Par. (a) does not apply to a maple sap concentration facility licensed as a food processing plant that is required to meet the provisions of s. ATCP 87.26. Section 7. ATCP 70.06 (7) (d) 5. is amended to read:
5. Food contact surfaces of equipment used solely to process foods or food ingredients with low water activity not greater than 0.85, such as chocolate, fats and oils, liquid nutritive sweeteners, peanut butter or similar foods which are not potentially hazardous.
Section 8. ATCP 70.06 (7) (d) 6. is created to read:
ATCP 70.06 (7) (d) 6. Equipment used solely for concentration of maple sap according to the provisions of s. ATCP 87.26. Section 9. ATCP 70.07 (1) (f) is created to read:
ATCP 70.07 (1) (f) This subsection does not apply to food processing plants processing liquid maple products, as defined in s. ATCP 87.11 (7), or maple sap water, as defined in s. ATCP 87.11 (9), that are required to meet the provisions of s. ATCP 87.24. Section 10. ATCP 70.10 (7) is created to read:
ATCP 70.10 (7) Maple syrup labeling. Labeling of maple syrup shall also meet the requirements in s. ATCP 87.36. Section 11. ATCP 87, Subchapter II is repealed and recreated to read:
SUBCHAPTER II.
MAPLE SYRUP AND CERTAIN OTHER MAPLE PRODUCTS
ATCP 87.11 Definitions. In this chapter:
(1)
“Clean” refers to maple syrup that is free from visible foreign material such as pieces of bark, soot, dust, or dirt.(2)
“Damage” means any defects that materially affect the appearance, edibility, or quality of maple syrup. Damaged maple syrup may be badly scorched, fermented, or have one or more off flavors or odors.(3)
“Degrees Brix” means the percentage by weight concentration of total soluble solids, mainly sugar, as measured using a refractometer calibrated at 68°F., and to which any applicable temperature correction has been made, or by any other method that gives equivalent results.(4)
“Delicate taste” means a maple flavor of mild intensity.(5)
“Department” means the Wisconsin department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection.(6)
“Division” means the division of food and recreational safety in the department. (7)
“Liquid maple products” means maple syrup, shelf-stable concentrated maple sap, non-shelf-stable concentrated maple sap, or maple sap water.(8)
“Maple-derived water” means permeate that is removed by reverse osmosis, or water that is otherwise removed, from sap from trees of the genus Acer. (9)
“Maple sap water” means sap from the trees of the genus Acer that has not been concentrated to a solids content of more than 4 percent, or 4 degrees Brix, and is a potentially hazardous food as defined in s. ATCP 70.02 (22).(10)
“Maple syrup” means the liquid food derived by concentrating and heating sap from the trees of the genus Acer, as defined in 21 CFR 168.140, having a solids content of not less than 66 percent by weight, or 66 degrees Brix, and not containing added sweeteners.(11)
“Non-shelf-stable concentrated maple sap” means sap from the trees of the genus Acer that has been concentrated using heating or other methods, has a solids content of more than 4 percent and less than 66 percent by weight, or from 4 to 66 degrees Brix, and will support microbial growth when stored at temperatures not lower than 41°F. (5°C.) or higher than 135°F. (57°C).(12)
“Off flavor or odor” means any specific and identifiable or unidentifiable flavor or odor that is not normally found in grade A maple syrup. Off flavors or odors may be related to natural factors or manufacturing practices, and may develop or be acquired during handling or storage.(13)
“Packaging” means the transfer of liquid maple products or maple-derived water into a container that is sealed for sale, distribution, or delivery to a customer.(14)
“Rich taste” means a full-bodied maple flavor of medium intensity.(15)
“Robust taste” means a full-bodied maple flavor of higher than medium intensity.(16)
“Shelf-stable concentrated maple sap” means sap from the trees of the genus Acer that has been concentrated using heating or other methods, has a solids content of less than 66 percent by weight, or less than 66 degrees Brix, and will not support microbial growth when stored at temperatures not lower than 41°F. (5°C.) or higher than 135°F. (57°C).
