AB 682, as introduced, Ian Calderon. State procurement: food: plumped poultry.
Existing law requires a vendor that operates or maintains a vending machine on designated state property, until a specified date, to offer food and beverages in the vending machine that meet accepted nutritional guidelines, as defined, in accordance with certain percentages.
Existing law governing contracting between state agencies and private contractors sets forth requirements for the procurement of supplies, materials, equipment, and services by state agencies and sets forth the various responsibilities of the Department of General Services and other state agencies in overseeing and implementing state contracting procedures and policies.
This bill would prohibit chicken or turkey sold in any state-owned or state-leased building at food concessions and cafeterias from being “plumped” in any way, beginning January 1, 2014, or upon expiration of an existing contract. The bill would prohibit the Department of General Services form purchasing “plumped” poultry when letting contracts for the purchase of food to be sold in a state building, as specified.
The bill would, for purposes of these provisions, define the term “plumped” with respect to poultry, to mean the injection of saltwater, chicken stock, seaweed extract, or some combination thereof into the poultry, to increase its weight and price.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) More than six million California adults, 23 percent of the
4state’s population, are obese, and an additional 9.3 million adults,
534 percent of the state’s population, are overweight, resulting in
6an estimated $21 billion in health care costs for California in 2006.
7Therefore, offering healthy and sustainable food options at state
8workplaces would help increase the consumption of foods that are
9low in fat, sodium, and sugars, thereby reducing the instances of
10obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other preventable health
11conditions.
12(b) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has
13published a guide
entitled “Improving the Food Environment
14Through Nutrition Standards: A Guide for Government
15Procurement,” which finds that states and localities can develop,
16adopt, and implement food procurement policies in order to model
17healthier food environments to positively impact government
18settings, including employee cafeterias, correctional facilities,
19schools, child care centers, public hospitals, senior centers, and
20parks.
21(c) The practice of “plumping” chicken or turkey can increase
22the sodium content by up to 500 percent. Fresh, natural chicken
23should have no more than 70mg of sodium per four ounce serving,
24whereas plumped chicken can contain up to 400mg of sodium.
25The average household of four people, because of “plumping”
26chicken or turkey, spends approximately $127 per year on
27saltwater.
Section 11005.8 is added to the Government Code, to
29read:
(a) Beginning January 1, 2014, or upon expiration
31of an existing contract, whichever occurs later, chicken or turkey
32sold in any state-owned or state-leased building at food concessions
33and cafeterias shall not be “plumped” in any way.
P3 1(b) For purposes of this section, “plumped” means the injection
2of saltwater, chicken stock, seaweed extract, or some combination
3thereof into chicken or turkey to increase its weight and price.
Section 10300.1 is added to the Public Contract Code,
5to read:
(a) Beginning January 1, 2014, when letting contracts
7for the purchase of food to be sold in a state-owned or state-leased
8building for food concessions, cafeterias, or vending operations,
9the Department of General Services shall not purchase chicken or
10turkey that has been “plumped” in any way.
11(b) For purposes of this section, “plumped” means the injection
12of saltwater, chicken stock, seaweed extract, or some combination
13thereof into chicken or turkey, to increase its weight and price.
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