BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1372
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 1372 (Feuer) - As Amended: May 6, 2009
Policy Committee: HealthVote:13 - 5
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires certain food processing facilities (FPFs) to
adopt and implement a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control
Points (HACCP) plan, conduct regular testing of ingredient and
product samples or specimens, and report any test result that is
positive for poisonous or deleterious substances to the
Department of Public Health (DPH) within 24 hours. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Requires an FPF that generates more than $______ of gross
annual revenue to implement a HACCP plan by January 1, 2012.
2)Requires an FPF that generates less than $______ of gross
annual revenue to implement a HACCP plan by January 1, 2013.
3)Requires DPH to adopt regulations that establish minimum
requirements for the HACCP program by January 1, 2011.
4)Requires an FPF to report to DPH any test result this is
positive for poisonous or deleterious substances or other
contaminants within 24 hours.
5)Requires an FPF to maintain a record of all testing that is
done pursuant to this bill for a minimum period of unspecified
years. Directs the FPF to make these records available to DPH
for inspection upon request.
6)Directs DPH to conduct inspections to ensure that an FPF
complies with its HACCP plan.
7)Requires the inspections to be conducted as part of DPH's
existing authority to inspect FPFs and requires the existing
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fee for inspections to be increased by an additional
unspecified amount to cover, but not exceed, the cost of the
inspections required by this bill.
8)Allows DPH, upon reasonable grounds to suspect that food or
ingredients, or both, at a FPF may be injurious to health, to
order the FPE to test samples or specimens of its food or
ingredients, or both, for the presence of any poisonous or
deleterious substances or other contaminants.
FISCAL EFFECT
Costs in excess of $3 million GF for DPH to review 3,600 HACCP
plans annually, along with the corresponding HACCP plan
monitoring documentation, and to investigate all positive
pathogen test reports. In addition, DPH would need at least one
new research scientist to provide the necessary technical
support for the program.
While the bill contains fee authority for DPH, in its current
form the fee amount has been left blank. Until that change is
made, costs for the program would need to be covered by the GF.
Increasing fees to cover the entire cost of the program would
necessitate a doubling of the existing fees for food processors.
In addition, any upfront costs for equipment, computer systems
changes, and training would be GF costs.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . The author states that current recalls of products
both in California and around the nation have illustrated the
need for more robust state oversight. Last summer, a
salmonella outbreak made 1,400 people sick in 43 states, and
initially tomatoes were identified as the source. However,
the author notes that the outbreak was later traced to
jalape?os and serrano peppers, but the author points out that
the tomato industry still has not fully recovered as a result.
According to the author, estimates suggest that tomato
growers lost $100 million in sales.
Most recently, the author cites a nationwide recall of
salmonella-contaminated pistachios issued by a California
AB 1372
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pistachio processor. The author states that the contaminated
product was initially identified on March 26, 2009, by a Kraft
Foods food-borne illness test, and then traced back to Setton
Farms of Terra Bella in California. The author asserts that
the entire domestic pistachio industry, 96% of which is in
California, is currently in turmoil because consumers do not
know which companies' pistachio products are safe to eat. The
author indicates that over 2 million pounds of pistachios have
been recalled and the state's entire $540 million pistachio
industry is facing the consequences.
Furthermore, the author notes that the state does not
currently require the adoption of plans that detail which
procedures will be used to prevent the presence of hazards
that may render finished food products or ingredients
manufactured at the establishment injurious to health. The
author maintains that DPH is not informed if testing samples
of food are found to contain poisonous substances and lacks
the ability to order testing if it believes there are
reasonable grounds to do so. The author contends that
establishing HACCP plans at individual processing plants will
make California's food safety system more preventative.
2)Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) Plans .
HACCP, which is already a requirement in the meat-processing
sector, is an international food safety standard designed to
prevent, eliminate, or reduce to acceptable levels the
microbial, chemical, and physical hazards associated with food
production. After the 2006 e-coli outbreaks traced to spinach,
California instituted a HACCP program for the spinach and
leafy green industry known as the Leafy Greens Handler Market
Program (LGMP). That program now has nearly 120 participating
producers throughout the state, representing 99% of the total
volume of leafy greens grown in California. The program has
been so successful that in 2007 there were no reported cases
of food borne illnesses related to leafy greens grown by LGMP
Association members.
According to the federal Food and Drug Administration, an
HACCP plan is a systematic approach to identifying,
evaluating, and controlling food safety hazards. For example,
a dairy HACCP plan covers the entire dairy foods manufacturing
process starting with the cow and finishing with the
consumption of the final product. The HACCP plan identifies
chemical, physical, or microbial hazards associated with the
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production and distribution of milk and minimizes these
hazards by monitoring and controlling the process at carefully
selected points known as critical control points (CCPs) to
ensure safe dairy products.
In instituting a HACCP plan, microbial and operational
expertise is needed to systematically and scientifically
evaluate a product's process from raw materials through
distribution. The dairy HACCP plan includes a process to
verify that the CCPs have been met, a corrective action plan
to address instances in which the CCPs are not met, and a
record keeping system to document compliance with the HACCP
plan. The plan is reviewed as part of a facility's routine
permitting inspection.
3)This Bill Contains a Series of Blanks . Three critical pieces
of this legislation remain blank. The author has not
determined which of the FPFs will be required to submit their
HACCP plans to DPH by January 1, 2012 and which will be given
an extra year to implement the program. The timing will be
based on the annual gross revenues of the FPF.
In addition, the author has not determined how many years
worth of testing records will need to be retained by the FPFs.
Finally, and critical to the fiscal analysis of this bill, the
maximum allowable licensing fee for these facilities has not
been determined. However, as noted in the fiscal section of
the analysis, licensing fees would need to double in order to
offset the costs of this legislation.
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081