BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1465
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1465 (Yee)
As Amended August 13, 2012
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :Vote not relevant
HEALTH 16-1 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Monning, Logue, Ammiano, |Ayes:|Gatto, Blumenfield, |
| |Atkins, Bonilla, Eng, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Garrick, Gordon, Hayashi, | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| |Roger Hernández, | |Fuentes, Hall, Hill, |
| |Bonnie Lowenthal, | |Cedillo, Mitchell, |
| |Mansoor, Mitchell, | |Solorio |
| |Nestande, Pan, Williams | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Silva |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires manufacturers of Asian rice-based noodles to
place a date and time stamp on the packaging of the noodles
indicating when the noodles came out of hot holding, as
specified, and the noodles are perishable. Exempts Asian
rice-based noodles that meet specified conditions from these
requirements. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires manufacturers of Asian rice-based noodles to label
the noodles to indicate the date and time that the noodles
came out of hot holding at temperatures above 135 degrees
Fahrenheit and include a statement that the noodles are
perishable.
2)Requires Asian rice-based noodles that have been kept at room
temperature to be consumed, cooked, or segregated for
destruction from other Asian rice-based noodles in a manner
approved by the local environmental health department (LEHD)
after four hours of the date and time labeled on the product.
3)Exempts Asian rice-based noodles that have a pH of 4.6 or
below, a water or activity of 0.85 or below, or have been
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determined by the Department of Public Health (DPH) to be a
non-potentially hazardous food (PHF), as specified, from the
requirements in 1) and 2) above.
4)Defines, for purposes of this bill, "Asian rice-based
noodles," to mean a rice-based pasta that contains rice
powder, water, wheat starch, vegetable cooking oil, and
optional ingredients to modify the pH or water activity, or to
provide a preservative effect.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the California Retail Food Code (CRFC),
administered by DPH, to govern all aspects of retail food
safety and sanitation in California and makes LEHDs primarily
responsible for enforcement through local food safety
inspection programs.
2)Defines, with specified exceptions, a retail food facility as
an operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends,
or otherwise provides food for human consumption at the retail
level.
3)Defines a PHF as a food that requires time or temperature
control to limit pathogenic micro-organism growth or toxin
formation, as specified; and excludes from the definition of
PHF a food with a pH level of 4.6 or below and a food that
does not support the rapid and progressive growth of
infectious or toxigenic micro-organisms, as specified.
4)Defines an Asian rice-based noodle to mean a confection that
contains rice powder, water, wheat starch, and vegetable
cooking oil. Specifies that the ingredients shall not include
any animal fats or any other products derived from animals.
5)Requires manufacturers of Asian rice-based noodles to label
the noodles to indicate the date and time of manufacture and
include a statement that the noodles must be consumed within
four hours of manufacture.
6)Allows a food facility to sell Asian rice-based noodles that
have been kept at room temperature for no more than four
hours.
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7)Requires Asian rice-based noodles that have been kept at room
temperature to be consumed, cooked, or destroyed in a manner
approved by the LEHD within four hours of manufacture.
8)Specifies that, at the end of the operating day, Asian
rice-based noodles that have been kept at room temperature for
more than four hours must be destroyed in a manner approved by
the LEHD.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, there are no significant costs associated with this
legislation.
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill is intended as a
follow up measure to prior legislation, SB 888 (Yee), Chapter
508, Statutes of 2010, which allows the sale of Asian rice-based
noodles that have been kept out of refrigeration for no more
than four hours and require manufacturers to label the product
with a time and date stamp and a statement indicating that the
noodles must be consumed within four hours of manufacture. The
author contends that the four hour timeframe set by SB 888 has
created problems for some manufacturers in Southern California
over the course of transporting the product to various buyers
throughout the region. The author states that, in order to
extend the shelf life of the product, some manufacturers have
added sodium acid sulfate, a chemical food additive, to the
product that renders it non-potentially hazardous. As a result,
the author argues that this bill is needed to clarify that Asian
rice-based noodles formulated with sodium acid sulfate, or
another nonanimal-based ingredient, that maintain the noodles at
a pH level of below 4.6 are not considered PHF and therefore are
not subject to state regulation.
DPH reports that the Food and Drug Branch (FDB) assisted one
Southern California producer, Lucky K.T. Company, Inc., in El
Monte, California, and its consultant in identifying a food
additive (sodium acid sulfate) that would adjust the pH of their
noodles to a level below 4.6. By statutory definition, a food
with a pH below 4.6 is not considered PHF and does not require
refrigeration. According to DPH, this Southern California firm
submitted various samples of their reformulated product to a
private lab to confirm the pH and provided FDB with the results.
Based on the revised formulation and the pH lab results, FDB
issued a letter to this manufacturer advising that their noodles
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were no longer considered PHF and would not be required to
comply with refrigeration rules, provided the manufacturer
continues to follow the formulation submitted to DPH.
Various Asian community groups, noodle manufacturers, and
retailers write in support that this bill preserves an important
cultural staple, respects California's diverse cultures, and
safeguards consumers, small businesses, and the economy by
ensuring that the noodles continue to be produced safely.
The California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators (CAEHA), which represents the local environmental
health jurisdictions, writes that it has removed its opposition
to the prior version of this bill, based on recent amendments.
However, CAEHA remains strongly concerned with loading the CRFC
with unnecessary provisions that regulate food items based on
their ethnic origin rather than science-based time and
temperature measurements.
Analysis Prepared by : Cassie Royce / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
FN: 0005057