AB 682, as amended, 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 billbegin delete wouldend delete, for purposes of these provisions,begin insert wouldend insert 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
P3 1sold in any state-owned or state-leased building at food concessions
2and cafeterias shall not be “plumped” in any way.
3(b) For purposes of this section, “plumped” means the injection
4of saltwater, chicken stock, seaweed extract, or some combination
5thereof into chicken or turkey to increase its weight and price.
Section 10300.1 is added to the Public Contract Code,
7to read:
(a) Beginning January 1, 2014, when letting contracts
9for the purchase of food to be sold in a state-ownedbegin insert buildingend insert or
10state-leased building for food concessions, cafeterias, or vending
11operations, the Department of General Services shall not purchase
12chicken or turkey that has been “plumped” in any way.
13(b) For purposes of this section, “plumped” means the injection
14of saltwater, chicken stock, seaweed extract, or some combination
15thereof into chicken or turkeybegin delete,end delete to increase its weight and
price.
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