§ 27-3005 — Exemptions and waivers

§ 27-3005. Exemptions and waivers.\n 1. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, this title shall\nnot apply to:\n (a) Prepackaged food filled or sealed prior to receipt at a covered\nfood service provider; or\n (b) Raw meat, pork, seafood, poultry or fish sold for the purpose of\ncooking or preparing off-premises by the customer; or\n * (c) Expanded polystyrene containers that are not wholly encapsulated\nor encased within a more durable container and are used for cold storage\nfor:\n (i) drugs and medical devices as defined in the federal food, drug,\nand cosmetic act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.);\n (ii) animal biologics, including vaccines, bacterins, antisera,\ndiagnostic kits, and other products of biological origin, and other\npackaging materials regulated by the United States department of\nagriculture under the virus, serum, toxin act (21 U.S.C. 151-159),\nincluding vaccines;\n (iii) tissues as defined in section forty-three hundred sixty of the\npublic health law or biological products as defined in the federal\nPublic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Sec 262);\n (iv) temperature-sensitive samples, cultures or specialized laboratory\nreagents requiring cold storage during shipment, either delivered to or\nreceived from:\n (A) the department of agriculture and market's food laboratory\npursuant to its duties under the agriculture and markets law; or\n (B) laboratories for testing to help ensure human health, animal\nhealth, and/or food safety pursuant to statutory or regulatory\nrequirements of, or standards established under, programs administered\nby the department, the department of health, the department of\nagriculture and markets, the United States department of agriculture\nand/or the United States food and drug administration; or\n (v) microbial cultures used for dairy, meat, or fermented beverage\nmanufacturing and requiring cold storage during shipment or delivery to\ndairy or meat processing plants or breweries and wineries as defined in\nsection three of the alcoholic beverage control law.\n * NB Effective until January 1, 2030\n * (c) Expanded polystyrene containers that are not wholly encapsulated\nor encased within a more durable container and are used for cold storage\nfor:\n (i) drugs and medical devices as defined in the federal food, drug,\nand cosmetic act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.);\n (ii) animal biologics, including vaccines, bacterins, antisera,\ndiagnostic kits, and other products of biological origin, and other\npackaging materials regulated by the United States department of\nagriculture under the virus, serum, toxin act (21 U.S.C. 151-159),\nincluding vaccines;\n (iii) tissues as defined in section forty-three hundred sixty of the\npublic health law or biological products as defined in the federal\nPublic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Sec 262); or\n (iv) temperature-sensitive samples, cultures or specialized laboratory\nreagents requiring cold storage during shipment, either delivered to or\nreceived from:\n (A) the department of agriculture and market's food laboratory\npursuant to its duties under the agriculture and markets law; or\n (B) laboratories for testing to help ensure human health, animal\nhealth, and/or food safety pursuant to statutory or regulatory\nrequirements of, or standards established under, programs administered\nby the department, the department of health, the department of\nagriculture and markets, the United States department of agriculture\nand/or the United States food and drug administration.\n * NB Effective January 1, 2030 until January 1, 2035\n * (c) Expanded polystyrene containers that are not wholly encapsulated\nor encased within a more durable container and are used for cold storage\nfor:\n (i) drugs and medical devices as defined in the federal food, drug,\nand cosmetic act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.);\n (ii) animal biologics, including vaccines, bacterins, antisera,\ndiagnostic kits, and other products of biological origin, and other\npackaging materials regulated by the United States department of\nagriculture under the virus, serum, toxin act (21 U.S.C. 151-159),\nincluding vaccines; or\n (iii) tissues as defined in section forty-three hundred sixty of the\npublic health law or biological products as defined in the federal\nPublic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Sec 262).\n * NB Effective January 1, 2035\n 2. Any facility, regardless of its income, including soup kitchens,\nfood pantries and places of worship, operated by a not-for-profit\ncorporation or by a federal, state, or local government agency that\nprovides food to needy individuals at no or nominal charge, and any\ncovered food service provider having an annual gross income under five\nhundred thousand dollars per location as stated on the income tax filing\nfor the most recent tax year and that: (a) does not operate ten or more\nlocations within the state; and (b) is not operated pursuant to a\nfranchise agreement may request from the department, in a manner and\nform established by the department, a financial hardship waiver of the\nrequirements of section 27-3003 of this title. Such waiver request may\napply to one or more disposable food service containers sold, offered\nfor sale, or distributed by any such covered food service provider. The\ndepartment shall grant a waiver if such covered food service provider\ndemonstrates that there is no alternative product of comparable cost\nthat is not composed of expanded polystyrene foam and that the purchase\nor use of an alternative product that is not composed of expanded\npolystyrene foam would create an undue financial hardship. Such\nfinancial hardship waiver shall be valid for twelve months and shall be\nrenewable upon application to the department.\n