Governor Hobbs Creates a Hot Tamale for herself
VIA SBINSIDER | April 21, 2023
Governor Katie Hobbs this past week vetoed a bill that had overwhelming bi-partisan support in the Legislature. The bill would have allowed for road side sales of tamales and other food items usually cooked in a person’s home.
In 2011, Arizona legalized the sale of homemade food – but only baked items and jams and other nonperishables. Food that requires temperature control still must be prepared in a commercial kitchen, under the law.
House Bill 2509 would legalize the sale of homemade dishes that have to be kept warm, provided the cook has completed an accredited food handler safety course and maintains that accreditation.
The vote in both houses was enough to override a veto. But Democrats are backtracking on voting for it again when the bill comes back to the Legislature, as they do not want to be seen as not supporting their Governor.
Hobbs offered a predictable response to why she vetoed, by pointing to the “health risks” with allowing this bill to pass. In reality, her most likely concern was keeping the support of the Arizona Restaurant Association which opposed the bill.
I am a retired dietitian and trained in food safety. I never buy food off the street. I don’t know how it was purchased, handled, cooked, stored, packaged and served. All it takes is one mishap in this chain and people get sick. The requirement for the course is a positive step, but does not guarantee safety and quality. Restaurants purchase from food wholesalers who know the public is the end consumer. An individual would most likely be buying from who knows where???Most everyone in a commercial kitchen has been trained in food safety. In a private kitchen, we don’t know how many people in that household could potentially contaminate that food, if only one person is trained.