HARRISBURG – The Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee unanimously passed a proposal that would eliminate potato packaging requirements in Pennsylvania, according to the bill sponsor Senator David G. Argall (R-29).
“This is the type of bureaucratic red tape that drives people nuts,” Argall said. “Maybe the law made sense many decades ago, but with increased competition from other states and the demands of consumers and retail partners, it’s time to relieve our potato farmers of this onerous restriction.”
Argall’s proposal, Senate Bill 1131, would strip the current weight requirements for potato bags. Currently, potatoes must be packaged in containers for sale in Pennsylvania weighing less than 3, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 100 and multiples of 100 pounds. Argall states that the current law is red tape for local potato farmers due to consumer and retailer demands.