BILL ANALYSIS AB 1604 Page 1 Date of Hearing: January 16, 2008 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE Nicole Parra, Chair AB 1604 (Parra) - As Amended: January 14, 2008 SUBJECT : Raw milk. SUMMARY : Deletes the required standard of 10 coliform bacteria or less per milliliter for raw milk that is sold to the public. (An Urgency Clause is to be added.) EXISTING LAW requires that raw milk that is sold for retail human consumption meet a 10 coliform bacteria per milliliter standard or less, in the container. FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed "non-fiscal" by Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS : Last year this committee passed AB 1735 (Agriculture) which was signed into law, effective January 1, 2008, that established for the first time in California, a coliform standard for raw bottled milk sold for human consumption. That standard was "10 or less coliform bacteria per milliliter." The bill was introduced with this language on March 15, 2007 and was heard in three policy committees between the Assembly and Senate; there was no registered or known opposition during this legislative process. After the bill became law, opposition came forward and concerns were raised that this standard could not be met and consumers may not have access to raw milk. The policy of this committee regarding committee bills is that any section(s) that have opposition are either dropped from the bill or given to a committee member who may wish to pursue those policy changes. The Chair of this Committee has introduced this measure to provide a hearing for the opponents of the newly created standards, which were not involved in the legislative process and were not aware that raw milk coliform standards were under consideration by the Legislature. And, the Legislature was not informed that there might be opposition to these new standards. California has two raw milk producers; one milking approximately 300 cows monthly and the other approximately 45 cows monthly. It is estimated that there are roughly 40,000 raw milk consumers AB 1604 Page 2 in California. According to one producer (taken from the website www.organicpastures.com ), raw milk provides many healthy consumer benefits and is good for consumers. Specifically, Organic Pastures' (OPD) web-site states that: " Natural organic raw milk has in it vitally important living things. These include the following: beneficial bacteria, enzymes (including lipase, protease. and other), lactase forming bacteria, and many enzyme based pathogen killing systems. The common practice of pasteurization inactivates or dramatically reduces the effects of these important active (living) elements. As a result, you may be lactose intolerant when drinking pasteurized milk, but not lactose intolerant when you drink raw milk. This is because lactase enzymes are being formed when you digest raw milk. That is why we say, "only living milk brings life."" Further, in their support letter, OPD stated that contrary to the California Department of Food and Agriculture's press release referenced below, Idaho and Nevada prohibits the sale of raw milk, even though Idaho has a standard of 50 coliform per milliliter on the books and that Washington State does not provide results of the bacteria tests back to the dairies, nor does it enforce its standard. The community of raw milk consumers believe raw milk products are healthier products than pasteurized milk products. They contend that the higher levels of coliform are due to beneficial bacteria that aide the consumer in many different ways. This community is very concerned that they will lose the availability to purchase raw milk products if the coliform standards are not removed. The coliform bacteria count has historically been used as an indicator of sanitation of the milking facility and the processing facility. There are certain coliform bacteria which are pathogenic and can cause severe illness and death. There has been illness tied to raw milk consumption, according to reports by the Center for Disease Control. There was also a recent incident where pasteurized milk caused illness and death in Pennsylvania due to the milk not being properly pasteurized or contaminated by other means. Raw milk policy varies greatly across the nation, with some states prohibiting the sale of raw milk: five states have AB 1604 Page 3 coliform standards, and some don't have producers to provide the products. The FDA and the CDC have strong warnings on their web-sites about the dangers of consuming raw milk and urges people to avoid its consumption. FDA prohibits the interstate shipping of raw milk for human consumption and requires a warning label be on all raw milk products. According to CDFA's October 2007 Press Release, "the new standard sets a maximum amount of coliform bacteria at no more than 10 bacteria per milliliter (mL) in milk sold raw to the consumer, the same limit required for pasteurized milk. This level is consistent with both national and international public health and food safety requirements as reflected in standards set for pasteurized dairy products by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Canadian Food Inspection Service, and the European Economic Community (EEC). It is also the same standard currently used for raw milk sold for direct consumption in several western states, including Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Washington." Related legislation : AB 1735 (Agriculture), Chapter 339, Statutes of 2007, Milk and dairy products: standards. This bill made numerous technical changes to conform California statute to federal milk product guidelines, including establishment of coliform standards for raw milk that is sold to the public. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support Claravale Farm Organic Pastures Dairy Company, LLC Opposition None received Analysis Prepared by : Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084