BILL NUMBER: AB 2572 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 2008
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 2, 2008
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Parra
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Garcia)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Hayashi)
FEBRUARY 22, 2008
An act to add Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 114450) to Part
7 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to food
facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2572, as amended, Parra. Food facilities: nutrition
information.
The California Retail Food Code provides for the regulation of
health and sanitation standards for retail food facilities by the
State Department of Public Health. Under existing law, local health
agencies are primarily responsible for enforcing this code. A
violation of these provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor.
This bill would require a covered food facility, as defined, to
disclose prescribed nutrition information for each standard food
item, as specified. The bill would authorize any food facility that
is not a covered food facility to voluntarily provide nutrition
information for a standard food item, provided that certain nutrients
are determined with reasonable basis and disclosed in a written
form. The bill would provide that, on and after January 1, 2010, a
covered food facility that violates these provisions is guilty of an
infraction, and would specifically provide that a violation of these
provisions is not a misdemeanor. By creating an infraction and adding
a new local enforcement duty, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Over the past two decades, there has been a significant
increase in the number of meals prepared or eaten outside the home,
with an estimated one-third of calories and almost one-half of total
food dollars associated with food obtained from restaurants and other
food service establishments.
(b) Broader availability of nutrition information regarding foods
served at restaurants and other food service establishments would
allow consumers to make more informed decisions about the food they
purchase.
(c) Three-quarters of American adults report using food labels on
packaged foods, which are required by the federal Nutrition Labeling
and Education Act of 1990.
(d) Availability of nutrition information regarding restaurant
food assists consumers who closely monitor their diet.
(e) Due to substantial variations in restaurant characteristics,
restaurants have used a variety of methods to provide the broad
nutrition information that their customers desire.
(f) Providing accurate nutrition information for food prepared in
restaurants is significantly more difficult than for processed food
items because of greater variability of portion size, formulation,
and other characteristics of the restaurant food product and the
processes used to produce it.
(g) In implementing the federal Nutrition Labeling and Education
Act of 1990, the federal Food and Drug Administration recognized the
need for accuracy in nutrition information statements and addressed
the challenges of determining restaurant food product nutrition
information by permitting nutrition information for such products to
be determined with "reasonable basis."
(h) Notwithstanding the substantial variability of nutrition
characteristics of standard food items served at restaurants and
other food service establishments, the public health would be
advanced by providing nutrition information, determined with
reasonable basis, for standard food items generally available at
restaurants.
(i) Restaurants and other food service establishments generally
are more likely to provide nutrition information regarding food items
if there is not a threat of conflicting or overlapping governmental
requirements for disclosure of nutrition information, or
vulnerability to frivolous litigation regarding the accuracy of
disclosure of nutrition information.
(j) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide consumers with
greater access to nutrition information regarding restaurant foods by
recognizing that nutrition information determined with reasonable
basis is appropriately accurate and to provide restaurants reasonable
flexibility in providing nutrition information to consumers.
SEC. 2. Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 114450) is added to
Part 7 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER 14. NUTRITION INFORMATION
114450. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Covered food facility" means a food facility that operates
under the same trade name with at least 20 other food facilities in
the state, regardless of ownership, except that a "covered food
facility" shall not include the following types of food facilities:
(1) Certified farmers' markets.
(2) Commissaries.
(3) Grocery stores, except for separately owned food facilities to
which this section otherwise applies that are located in the grocery
store. For purposes of this paragraph, "grocery store" means a store
primarily engaged in the retail sale of canned foods, dry goods,
fresh fruits and vegetables, and fresh meats, fish, and poultry.
Also, "grocery store" includes convenience stores.
(4) Licensed health care facilities.
(5) Mobile support units.
(6) Public and private school cafeterias.
(7) Restricted food service facilities.
(8) Temporary food facilities.
(a) Vending machines.
(b) "Standard food item" means a food item offered for sale by a
covered food facility at least 180 days per calendar year, excluding
food items that are customized on a case-by-case basis in response to
unsolicited customer requests, alcoholic beverages, the labeling of
which is not regulated by the federal Food and Drug Administration,
or packaged foods otherwise subject to the nutrition labeling
requirements of the federal Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of
1990.
(c) "Reasonable basis" means any reasonable means of determining
nutrition information for a standard menu item, as recognized by the
federal Food and Drug Administration, including, but not limited to,
nutrient databases, cookbooks, and laboratory analyses. A "reasonable
basis" determination of nutrition information shall be required only
once per standard menu item, provided that portion size is
reasonably consistent and the covered food facility follows a
standardized recipe and trains to a consistent method of preparation.
114451. (a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (d), a covered
food facility shall make all of the following nutrition information
available to consumers for each standard food item:
(A) The total number of calories.
(B) The amount of total fat, saturated fat, and trans fat.
(C) The amount of carbohydrates.
(D) The amount of sodium.
(2) The nutrition information required by this subdivision shall
be determined with reasonable basis and disclosed on a per item basis
in accordance with the federal Food and Drug Administration's
requirements for disclosure under the federal Nutrition Labeling and
Education Act of 1990.
(b) (1) Except as provided in subdivisions (c) and (d), a covered
food facility shall disclose in writing the information listed in
subdivision (a), within the facility, by at least one of the
following methods:
(A) Menu or other writing at the point of sale.
(B) Standard food item packaging.
(C) Counter or table tent.
(D) Tray liner.
(E) Poster.
(F) Brochure or other printed material.
(G) Electronic medium, including an electronic kiosk on the
premises.
(H) Any other means recognized by the department.
(2) When nutrition information is disclosed by means other than a
menu or other writing at the point of sale, the covered food facility
shall conspicuously display at or near the point of sale a notice
that reads: "NUTRITION INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST" or
other similar referral statement that discloses the availability of
the nutrition information.
(c) If a covered food facility provides consumers a point of sale
in an outdoor area drive-through or drive-in auto stall, then that
covered food facility shall conspicuously display at or near the
point of sale the nutritional information required in subdivision (a)
or shall conspicuously display at or near the point of sale a notice
that reads: "NUTRITION INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST" or
other similar referral statement that discloses the availability of
the nutrition information by at least one of the methods listed in
subdivision (b).
114452. Any food facility that is not a covered food facility may
voluntarily provide under this chapter nutrition information for a
standard food item, provided that all of the nutrients required to be
disclosed by subdivision (a) of Section 114451 are determined with
reasonable basis and disclosed in a written form within the facility.
114453. This chapter is a matter of statewide concern and
occupies the whole field of regulation regarding the dissemination of
nutrition information by a covered food facility. No ordinance or
regulation of a local government may prohibit or in any way attempt
to regulate the dissemination of nutrition information by a covered
food facility, and any of these ordinances or regulations are void
and of no force or effect. If a food facility that is not a covered
food facility elects to provide nutritional information pursuant to
Section 114452, then the department shall have the same jurisdiction
with regard to nutrition information in the food facility as
described above.
114454. 114453. (a) Commencing
January 1, 2010, a covered food facility that violates this chapter
is guilty of an infraction, punishable by a fine of not more than
fifty dollars ($50) for each violation, that may be assessed by a
local enforcement agency.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 114395, a violation of this chapter is
not a misdemeanor.
114455. 114454. Nothing in this
chapter shall be construed to create or enhance any claim, right of
action, or civil liability that did not previously exist under the
laws of this state. No private right of action shall arise out of
this chapter. The only enforcement mechanism of this chapter is by
the local enforcement officer.
114456. 114455. If any provision of
this chapter, or the application thereof, is for any reason held
invalid, ineffective, or unconstitutional by a court of competent
jurisdiction, the remainder of this chapter, or the application of
this provision, shall not be affected thereby, and to this end, the
provisions of this chapter are severable.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of
Title 2 of the Government Code.