28A.04 LICENSE REQUIRED; CUSTOM PROCESSING PERMIT APPLICATIONS; RENEWALS.

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Subdivision 1.Application; date of issuance.

(a) Except as provided under section 28A.152, no person shall engage in the business of manufacturing, processing, selling, handling, or storing food without having first obtained from the commissioner a license for doing such business. Applications for such license shall be made to the commissioner in such manner and time as required and upon such forms as provided by the commissioner and shall contain the name and address of the applicant, address or description of each place of business, and the nature of the business to be conducted at each place, and such other pertinent information as the commissioner may require.

(b) An applicant for a license must submit a nonrefundable application fee of $50 with each license application. The fee under this paragraph does not apply to annual license renewals. The fee under this paragraph is not required for applications to operate solely as a special event food stand or custom exempt food handler.

(c) A food handler license shall be issued for the period January 1 to December 31 and shall be renewed thereafter by the licensee on or before January 1 of each year, except that:

(1) retail and wholesale food handler licenses issued for the period of July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, must be renewed on or before July 1, 2026, for the period of July 1, 2026, to December 31, 2026. The renewal fee for the period of July 1, 2026, to December 31, 2026, is one-half of the fee for a food handler specified in section 28A.08, subdivision 3;

(2) licenses for all mobile food concession units and retail mobile units must be issued for the period April 1 to March 31, and must be renewed thereafter by the licensee on or before April 1 of each year. A license issued for a temporary food concession stand must have a license issuance and renewal date consistent with appropriate statutory provisions; and

(3) a license for a food handler operating only at the State Fair must be issued for the period of July 1 to June 30 and must be renewed thereafter by the licensee on or before July 1 of each year.

(d) A penalty for late renewal under paragraph (b) must be assessed in accordance with section 28A.08.

(e) A custom exempt food handler license shall be issued for the period July 1 to June 30 and must be renewed thereafter by the licensee on or before July 1 each year. The custom exempt food handler license is for businesses that only conduct custom exempt operations and mark all products as “Not For Sale.” Food handlers that conduct retail exempt operations or other operations other than custom exempt processing or slaughter are not eligible for this license.

(f) On a quarterly basis during the licensing period, the commissioner must prorate the fee for an initial license issued under this chapter, except that a person applying for a new license up to 14 calendar days before the effective date of the new license period under paragraph (c) must be issued a license for the 14 days and the next license year as a single license and pay a single license fee as if the 14 days were part of the upcoming license period. §

Subd. 2.Custom processing or Minnesota Meat and Poultry Inspection Act permit.

In addition to the license requirements set forth in subdivision 1, every custom exempt processor or establishment operating under the Minnesota Meat and Poultry Inspection Act as defined in section 31A.31, shall obtain a custom processing permit or Minnesota Meat and Poultry Grant of Inspection permit. Application for a permit shall be made on forms provided by the commissioner. The commissioner shall cause the processor’s place of business to be inspected and if the commissioner finds that the applicant’s place of business complies with state standards relating to meat processing plants, a permit under this subdivision shall be issued to the applicant. An additional fee of up to $500 may be charged for a permit under this subdivision.

History:

1971 c 339 s 4; 1975 c 412 s 10; 1977 c 160 s 2; 1996 c 407 s 18; 1999 c 59 s 1; 1Sp2001 c 2 s 43; 2007 c 45 art 1 s 36; 2019 c 38 s 9; 2025 c 34 art 5 s 4

History: History: 1971 c 339 s 4; 1975 c 412 s 10; 1977 c 160 s 2; 1996 c 407 s 18; 1999 c 59 s 1; 1Sp2001 c 2 s 43; 2007 c 45 art 1 s 36; 2019 c 38 s 9; 2025 c 34 art 5 s 4