BILL ANALYSIS
SB 602
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 23, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
William W. Monning, Chair
SB 602 (Padilla) - As Amended: March 10, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 23-13
SUBJECT : Food safety.
SUMMARY : Requires a food handler, as defined, to obtain a food
handler card within 30 days after his or her hire date at a food
facility, with specified exceptions, beginning January 1, 2011,
and mandates at least one of the accredited food safety
certification examinations required under current law to be
offered online. Specifically, this bill :
1)Defines a "food handler" as an individual involved in the
preparation, storage, or service of food in a food facility,
including in a temporary food facility, and exempts an
individual holding a valid food safety certificate from this
definition.
2)Requires, beginning January 1, 2011, a food handler to obtain
a food handler card from a food protection manager
certification organization accredited by the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI), as specified, within 30 days after
the date of hire, and to maintain a valid card for the
duration of employment. Requires all other food handlers to
obtain a card by February 1, 2011.
3)Makes the card valid for three years from the date of
issuance, regardless of whether the food handler changes
employers during that period. Requires the card to be
recognized throughout the state, as specified.
4)Conditions the issuance of a card on successful completion of
an approved food handler training course and assessment that
meets specified minimum requirements.
5)Specifies that the food handler training course and assessment
may be offered through a trainer-led class and assessment or
self-training and assessment, and includes, but is not limited
to, training and assessment using a computer program and the
Internet.
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6)Exempts from the requirements of this bill food handlers
employed by certified farmer's markets, commissaries, grocery
stores, as specified, licensed health care facilities, mobile
support units, public and private school cafeterias,
restricted food service facilities, pharmacy retail stores,
and food facilities that provide in-house food safety training
if specified conditions are met.
7)Prohibits the requirements of this bill from applying to food
handlers who are subject to an existing local food handler
program, as specified.
8)Directs each food facility that employs a food handler subject
to the requirements of this bill to maintain records
documenting that each food handler employee possesses a valid
card and to furnish those records to the local enforcement
officer upon request.
9)Caps the cost of at least one food handler training course and
assessment at no more than $15, including a food handler card.
Specifies that the requirement in this bill to obtain a card
does not apply if a food handler training course and
assessment is not available for $15.
10)Requires at least one of the accredited food safety
certification examinations that an owner or employee of a food
facility is currently required to pass under current law to be
offered online.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the California Retail Food Code (CRFC) to govern
all aspects of retail food safety and sanitation in
California.
2)Makes local environmental health departments primarily
responsible for enforcing CRFC through local food safety
inspection programs.
3)Requires food facilities that prepare, handle, or serve
non-prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous foods, except
temporary food facilities, to have at least one owner or
employee who has successfully passed an approved and
accredited food safety certification examination and
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demonstrate to the local enforcement officer that the
employees have an adequate knowledge of food safety principles
as they relate to the specific operation involved in their
assigned duties.
4)Requires the food safety certification examination in 3) above
to include specified elements of knowledge and be accredited
by ANSI as meeting the requirements of the Conference for Food
Protection's "Standards for Accreditation of Food Protection
Manager Certification Programs."
5)Defines a food employee as an employee working with food, food
equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces; and, requires
all food employees to have adequate knowledge of, and be
properly trained in, food safety as it relates to their
assigned duties.
6)Defines a food handler program as any city, county, or city
and county program that requires all, or a substantial portion
of, the employees of a food facility who are involved in the
preparation, storage, service, or handling of food products to
participate in an approved food safety training or pass an
approved food safety certification examination, or both.
7)Directs the Department of Public Health (DPH) to implement a
food safety certification and examination program, as
specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill has not yet been analyzed by a fiscal
committee.
COMMENTS :
1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL . According to the author, many of the
hazards that make food unsafe and cause a food-borne illness
include improper handling, poor food employee hygiene, time or
temperature abuse, cross-contamination, and poor cleaning and
sanitizing. The author notes that current law requires only
one person in a food establishment, usually a manager, to have
proper food safety training and that person in charge is
responsible for training all of the personnel on food safety
and handling. The author maintains that every person who
comes in contact with food should have some food handling
education. The author notes that acute foodborne illnesses
cost the U.S. an estimated $152 billion per year in
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healthcare, workplace, and other economic losses, according to
a March 2010 report published by the Produce Safety Project.
This bill is intended to dramatically reduce and prevent
incidents of food-borne illnesses by ensuring that all
individuals who handle, serve, or sell non-prepackaged food to
the public are familiar with responsible food practices.
2)CALIFORNIA RETAIL FOOD CODE . The CRFC was enacted on July 1,
2007, to repeal the California Uniform Retail Food Facilities
Law (CURFFL) and enhance food safety laws based on the best
available science. CRFC is modeled after the federal Food and
Drug Administration's (FDA) Model Food Code, which is updated
every four years. CRFC makes several enhancements to CURFFL,
relative to documentation, uniformity and consistency, best
available science, at-risk populations, and flexibility of
provisions. With the enactment of CRFC, local environmental
health departments have refocused their food facility
inspections to emphasize violations relating to the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) identified
food-borne illness risk factors and public health
interventions. The CDC food-borne illness risk factors are:
food from unsafe sources; inadequate cooking; improper holding
temperatures; contaminated equipment; and, poor personal
hygiene. Public health interventions identified by CDC
include: demonstration of knowledge; employee health; time and
temperature control; hands as a source of contamination; and,
consumer advisories.
3)FOOD SAFETY CERTIFICATION . Current state law requires food
safety certification to be achieved by successfully passing an
examination from a food protection manager certification
organization that is accredited by ANSI to meet the standards
for food protection manager certification programs issued by
the Conference for Food Protection (CFP). The CFP is an
independent, national, voluntary, nonprofit organization. Its
objectives include identifying and addressing food safety
problems; adopting fair and workable procedures; maintaining a
working liaison among government, industry, academic,
professional and consumer groups; and promoting uniformity of
regulation in food protection. The FDA has recognized the CFP
through a Memorandum of Understanding as a voluntary national
organization qualified to develop standards to promote food
protection. Conference recommendations contribute to
improvements in the FDA's Model Food Code and assist local and
state jurisdictions in justifying, adopting, and implementing
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its provisions.
4)CERTIFIED FOOD PROTECTION MANAGERS . According to the CFP, a
certified food protection manager is an individual who has
demonstrated by means of passing an accredited food safety
certification examination that he or she has the knowledge,
skills, and abilities required to protect the public from
foodborne illness. Duties of such individuals could include,
but are not necessarily limited to responsibility for
identifying hazards in the daily operation of a retail food
establishment; developing or implementing specific policies,
procedures, or standards aimed at preventing foodborne
illness; coordinating training, supervision, or direction of
food preparation activities; taking corrective action as
needed to protect the health of the consumer; and, completing
in-house self-inspection of daily operations on a periodic
basis to observe that policies and procedures concerning food
safety are being followed.
5)FOOD HANDLER CERTIFICATION . According to the sponsor of this
bill, the California Restaurant Association (CRA), the
statewide food handler certification requirements in this bill
are intended to provide employees who handle non-prepackaged
food with an overview of key elements of food safety in order
to prevent the transmission of foodborne illnesses. The food
handler certification in this bill differs from food
protection manager certification. Manager certification is
only required of one person per food facility and requires a
more intensive training course that culminates in a lengthy
test that must be proctored. The food handler certification
proposed in this bill is not intended to replace current
manager certification requirements; it is in addition to these
requirements. Both the course and test for food handlers will
be available online, and the test will not require a proctor.
Topics to be covered include personal hygiene, time and
temperature control, cross-contamination prevention, proper
cleaning and sanitizing techniques, and job-specific
guidelines.
6)CURRENT FOOD HANDLER PROGRAMS . Generally, the CRFC preempts
any other locality from having different or additional food
safety certification requirements but it grandfathers-in food
handler programs that took effect prior to January 1, 1998.
Current programs include those in Riverside, San Bernardino,
and San Diego counties. Similarly, this bill would exempt
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food handlers in these counties from the requirements of this
bill because they are already subject to these established
certification programs.
Riverside County initially adopted its food worker certification
program in 1978. The county offers a manual, which can be
self-taught, provides training classes and administers the
certification test. The program applies to anyone whose job
includes the handling of food, beverages, or utensils. All
employees are required to have a current food worker
certificate within two weeks of being hired at a food
facility. To receive a certificate, an employee must read the
food workers' certification manual and pass a 50 question
multiple choice examination.
San Bernardino County requires food workers to possess a valid,
unexpired food worker certification card. The county defines
food workers to include waiters, waitresses, bartenders,
buspersons, cooks, dishwashers, hosts, hostesses, managers,
meat cutters, and deli workers. All food workers in the
county are required to obtain a card within 14 days of
employment. A card is valid for three years. To obtain
certification, the applicant may participate in a training
course online or through a DVD that is provided to each food
facility by an enforcement officer, and the applicant can then
go to a testing site to take the test.
In San Diego County, all food handlers are required to possess
either a valid food handler card issued by a county-approved
food handler training school, or pass a county food handler
test administered by a current food safety manager who has
passed a state-approved food safety certification exam. Food
handler cards are valid for three-year periods and can be
renewed by taking a short exam and paying a renewal fee at one
of the county's offices.
7)OTHER STATES . Florida mandates that all food service workers
must be trained in food handling safety and has several food
handler programs. All food service employees of
establishments that are licensed by Florida's Department of
Business and Professional Regulation are required to be
certified. Florida also has a manager's certification
requirement. New hire training is required to be done within
60 days of hire. Food service employee certification is valid
for three years. Data from the Florida Department of Health
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for 2008 show that incidents of suspected and confirmed
food-borne illness outbreaks in licensed food service
establishments have decreased by 79% since the requirements
went into effect in 1997.
In Oregon, food service workers are required to obtain a food
handler card within 30 days of hire. The card costs $10 and
is valid for three years. Food handler cards issued in any
county are valid throughout Oregon. A worker may also obtain
a valid food manager training certificate in lieu of a food
handler card. Food handler cards issued in other states are
not accepted in Oregon.
The state of Washington requires all food workers to have food
safety training before handling food served to the public.
Food workers who attend a food safety training class and pass
a state-administered exam on food safety basics are issued a
food worker card that, like Oregon, costs $10. Local health
departments provide the food worker training and issue the
cards. An initial food worker card is valid for two years and
the employee must take the food safety training class and pass
the exam again before the card expires. The renewal card is
then valid for three to five years.
Texas does not have a statewide food handler certification
program in place but 80 counties have adopted a mandatory food
handler certification program for their food service
employees. However, a statewide food handler program is
currently under consideration in order to standardize
requirements between the counties and reduce burdens on
restaurants and their employees who are subject to different
requirements in different jurisdictions within the state.
8)SUPPORT . CRA writes in support that this bill reflects a
consensus and collaboration between the industry, regulators,
and environmental health officers to improve food safety in
California by exposing restaurant employees who handle
non-prepackaged food to a basic yet fundamental and
responsible level of food safety education and understanding.
The California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators, which represents all 62 local environmental
health departments in California, states that this bill takes
an important step toward enhancing food safety in the state by
requiring food handlers in restaurants to obtain some basic
food safety training. The California Chamber of Commerce
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writes in support that this consensus bill reflects a
willingness to ensure that food safety is a top priority for
restaurateurs. The California Retailers Association adds that
the requirement to provide at least one of the accredited food
safety certification examinations online provides a cost- and
time-effective means by which employees can comply.
9)PRIOR LEGISLATION .
a) SB 453 (Padilla) of 2009 would have required an
individual involved in the preparation, storage, or service
of food to obtain a food handler card within 30 days after
hire and would have directed the DPH to develop and
implement standards for accrediting food handler
certification organizations and guidelines for approved
food handler courses by June 1, 2010. This bill died on
the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File.
b) SB 173 (Florez) of 2009 would have required the State
Public Health Officer to recall food believed to carry a
food-borne illness, infection, pathogen, contagion, toxin,
or cause death or illness in humans. This bill was vetoed
by Governor Schwarzenegger because, according to the
Governor, DPH already has broad statutory and
administrative authority to ensure contaminated food
product is removed from commerce and this bill did not
provide any additional improvements to that authority.
c) SB 144 (Runner), Chapter 23, Statutes of 2006, repeals
CURFFL and recasts and revises its provisions under the
CRFC, effective July 1, 2007. Modeled after the FDA's
Model Food Code, the CRFC makes several enhancements to
CURFFL relative to documentation, uniformity and
consistency, and best available science.
d) AB 1978 (Campbell), Chapter 72, Statutes of 1998,
requires food facilities to have an owner or employee who
has successfully passed an approved and accredited food
safety certification examination and caps the cost of at
least one exam at no more than $60, including the
certificate.
10)AUTHOR'S AMENDMENTS . The author plans to offer amendments to
extend the dates by which all food handlers must get a card
from January and February 2011 to June and July 2011 and add
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an urgency clause.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Restaurant Association (sponsor)
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
California Chamber of Commerce
California Retailers Association
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Cassie Rafanan / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097