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 turkeybegin insert purchased to be served orend insert sold in any state-owned or state-leased buildingbegin insert or public school facilityend insert 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 soldbegin insert or servedend insert in a state building, as specified.
The bill, for purposes of these provisions, would 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.
7begin insert One in three children in California, 10 to 17 years of age, is
8overweight or obese.end insert Therefore, offering healthy and sustainable
9food options at state workplaces would help increase the
10consumption of foods that are low in fat, sodium, and
sugars,
11thereby reducing the instances of obesity, diabetes, heart disease,
12and other preventable health conditions.
13(b) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has
14published a guide entitled “Improving the Food Environment
15Through Nutrition Standards: A Guide for Government
16Procurement,” which finds that states and localities can develop,
17adopt, and implement food procurement policies in order to model
18healthier food environments to positively impact government
19settings, including employee cafeterias, correctional facilities,
20schools, child care centers, public hospitals, senior centers, and
21parks.
22(c) The practice of “plumping” chicken or turkey can increase
23the sodium content by up to 500 percent. Fresh, natural chicken
24should have no more than 70mg of
sodium per four ounce serving,
25whereas plumped chicken can contain up to 400mg of sodium.
26The average household of four people, because of “plumping”
27chicken or turkey, spends approximately $127 per year on
28saltwater.
Section 11005.8 is added to the Government Code, to
2read:
(a) Beginning January 1, 2014, or upon expiration
4of an existing contract, whichever occurs later, chicken or turkey
5begin deletesold end deletebegin insertpurchased to be sold or served end insertin any state-ownedbegin delete orend deletebegin insert building,end insert
6 state-leased buildingbegin insert, or public school facility,end insert at food concessions
7and cafeterias shall not be “plumped” in any
way.
8(b) For purposes of this section, “plumped” means the injection
9of saltwater, chicken stock, seaweed extract, or some combination
10thereof into chicken or turkey to increase its weight and price.
Section 10300.1 is added to the Public Contract Code,
12to read:
(a) Beginning January 1, 2014, when letting contracts
14for the purchase of food to be soldbegin insert or servedend insert in a state-owned
15building or state-leased building for food concessions, cafeterias,
16or vending operations, the Department of General Services shall
17not purchase chicken or turkey that has been “plumped” in any
18way.
19(b) For purposes of this section, “plumped” means the injection
20of saltwater, chicken stock, seaweed extract, or some combination
21thereof into chicken or turkey to increase its weight and price.
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