Local State Senator Sponsors Legislation That Would Ease Farmers and Other Vendors Selling Of Produc

(Undated) -- An area State Senator is sponsoring a plan that will make it easier for farmers and other vendors to sell their products at farmers markets throughout the state. State Senator Dave Koehler from Peoria and who represents a portion of Fulton County, says that Under Illinois' current law, local health departments set the rules for buying and selling food at farmers markets, which has resulted in a hodge-podge of conflicting regulations. Koehler's plan would allow the Illinois Department of Public Health to establish a single set of regulations for the entire state. Koehler's legislation, which recently passed the Senate Agriculture Committee, would also create rules for offering samples and require labels that make it easier for customers to identify where the food they buy was grown and produced.