BILL NUMBER: SB 120 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Padilla
JANUARY 22, 2007
An act to add Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 114375) to
Part 7 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to
food facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 120, as introduced, Padilla. Food facilities: nutritional
information.
The California Uniform Retail Food Facilities Law (CURFFL)
provides for the regulation of health and sanitation standards for
retail food facilities by the State Department of Health Services.
Under existing law local health agencies are primarily responsible
for enforcing CURFFL. A violation of any of these provisions is
punishable as a misdemeanor. Effective July 1, 2007, the duties of
the department will be transferred to the State Department of Public
Health.
This bill would require each food facility in the state that is
part of a chain, as defined, to provide nutritional information that
includes the total number of calories per item on menu boards and,
except when the facility only uses a menu board, the total number of
calories, grams of saturated fat plus trans fats, and milligrams of
sodium per item on printed menus. The bill would provide that a food
facility would be in violation of the act and guilty of a infraction
if it fails to comply with these requirements on and after January 1,
2009. 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. It is the intent of the Legislature to provide
consumers with better access to nutritional information about
prepared foods sold at food facilities so that consumers can
understand the nutritional value of available foods.
SEC. 2. Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 114375) is added to
Part 7 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER 12.5. FOOD FACILITY NUTRITION
114375. (a) Each food facility in this state that is a part of a
chain of food facilities that includes 10 or more franchises or food
facilities in the state shall make nutritional information available
to consumers for all standard menu items. This information shall
include, but not be limited to, all of the following, per item, as
usually prepared and offered for sale:
(1) Total number of calories.
(2) Total number of grams of saturated fat plus trans fats.
(3) Total number of carbohydrates.
(4) Total number of milligrams of sodium.
(b) Each food facility that uses a standard menu shall provide the
nutritional information next to each item on the menu in a size and
typeface similar to other information about each menu item.
(c) Each food facility that uses only a menu board may limit the
nutritional information listed on the menu board to the total number
of calories per item in a size and typeface similar to other
information about the item if the additional nutritional information
is made available to consumers in writing upon request.
(d) The bottom of each page of a menu shall include, in a clear
and conspicuous manner, the following statement: "Recommended limits
for a 2,000 calorie daily diet are 20 grams of saturated fat and
2,300 milligrams of sodium. Saturated fat numbers include trans fat."
If no items on the menu contain more than 0.5 grams of trans fat
from partially hydrogenated oil per item, the statement, "saturated
fat numbers include trans fat," can be omitted.
(e) This section does not apply to items that are on the menu for
less than six months.
(f) A food facility is out of compliance with this section if the
declaration on the menu, menu board, or writing provided pursuant to
subdivision (c) is more than 20 percent lower than what nutrient
analysis shows as the average content of a representative sample of
the menu item.
114376. (a) The duty of an enforcement officer to enforce this
chapter shall be limited to conducting an inspection in the course of
regular health inspections of food facilities. Until January 1,
2009, this enforcement duty shall be limited to verifying that the
food establishment has made a good faith effort to comply with this
chapter.
(b) On and after January 1, 2009, a food facility that violates
this chapter is guilty of an infraction, punishable by a fine of not
less than fifty dollars ($50) or more than five hundred dollars
($500) for each violation, which may be assessed by an enforcement
officer. Notwithstanding Section 113935, a violation of this section
is not a misdemeanor.
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.