“Bring your own container” rules moving forward
By Elisabeth Archer, Waste Reduction Strategist
Important changes allowing people to “bring your own container” as part of the state’s Food Safety Rules have been under consideration for the past year. The State Board of Health had originally been scheduled to vote on the new rules in March. That vote has been delayed till summer, but the Board held a briefing on April 8, 2020, via zoom and we are glad that the process is still moving forward. “Refilling Reusable Containers” (WAC 246-215-03348), also referred as “bring your own container,” draft language was part of the presentation.
Zero Waste Washington proposed language to the State Food Safety Advisory Committee and the Department of Health (DOH) staff last spring. And DOH staff included the “bring your own container” provisions in the draft sent out for informal public comment in June.
Thanks to the many of you who sent in comments, DOH staff updated the language of the proposed rule incorporating our suggestions for even stronger language. For example, the new draft now allows people to bring their own containers for all bulk foods, such as granola and grains.
If adopted by the Board, retailers will have the option to allow people to bring their own containers. Retail stores will need to create a written plan detailing how they will ensure no cross-contamination. This means using gravity-feed type dispensers and other means to make sure that no germs are transferred from your containers to the food bins at the store.
Many stores have temporarily removed salad bars and bulk sections during the COVID-19 crisis. We expect that these features will be restored after the crisis is over, but with new protections such as plexiglass shields and use of gloves and new equipment. We are hearing that the crisis is reinforcing people’s sense of the need for care for the environment and thus the movement to reduce plastic and excess packaging will rebound stronger than ever.
Next steps 
The next step in the process will be a formal public hearing of the draft language, currently scheduled for August 2020. There will be a written public comment period prior to the hearing.
Due to COVID-19, the timing is still in flux. We will let you know when there are confirmed dates for public comments and the public hearing for the food code revisions.
The anticipated effective date of the revised WAC 246-214 is the end of 2020. However, the Restaurant Association has asked that any food rule implementation be pushed out to the summer of 2021 to give food establishments time to recover from the business interruptions of COVID-19.
For more info about the rules
For more info about the Washington State Board of Health (SBOH) meetings, agendas, and materials: https://sboh.wa.gov/Meetings/MeetingInformation and https://www.doh.wa.gov/AboutUs/PublicHealthSystem/WashingtonStateBoardofHealth
For more info about the code and revision process: https://www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Food/FoodWorkerandIndustry/FoodSafetyRules/FoodCodeRuleRevision
Thank you all for your help in moving this issue forward. If you have any questions, please contact Elisabeth at elisabeth@zerowastewashington.org
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