BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1252 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 2, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH Richard Pan, Chair AB 1252 (Committee on Health) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013 SUBJECT : Retail food safety. SUMMARY : Makes various technical, clarifying, and conforming changes to the California Retail Food Code (CRFC), the state's principal law governing food safety and sanitation in retail food facilities. Specifically, this bill : 1)Defines the term "hot dog" in the CRFC and clarifies that the reheating and selling of hot dogs constitutes limited food preparation. 2)Conforms the definition of "service animal" to the definition contained in the federal Americans for Disabilities Act. 3)Requires food handler employees to wash their hands before initially donning gloves for working with food and when changing tasks, as specified. Clarifies that handwashing is not required between glove changes when no contamination of the gloves or hands has occurred. 4)Specifies the circumstances under which single-use gloves must be worn and prohibits these gloves from being re-used. 5)Requires an employee with a wound to take specified precautions when contacting food and prohibits an employee who has an open or draining wound from handling food. 6)Authorizes food facilities to use temporary alternative storage methods, such as a trailer, for food storage during holidays, emergencies, remodels or other circumstances, if approved by the local environmental health department (LEHD). 7)Makes clarifying changes to provisions governing the cleansing and sanitization of equipment and utensils. 8)Clarifies floor, wall, and ceiling surface requirements for employee dressing rooms, dressing areas, or locker areas. AB 1252 Page 2 9)Specifies potable water requirements for mobile food facilities that operate at community events. 10)Clarifies adequate water heater capacity requirements for mobile food facilities with dish washing sinks. 11)Specifies that existing law prohibiting the use of trans fats in all food facilities and governing compliance and enforcement applies to both temporary and mobile food facilities. EXISTING LAW : 1)Establishes the CRFC to govern all aspects of retail food safety and sanitation in California and makes LEHDs primarily responsible for enforcing the CRFC through local food safety inspection programs. 2)Defines a food handler to mean an individual who is involved in the preparation, storage, or service of food in a food facility, other than an individual holding a valid food safety certificate or an individual involved in the preparation, storage, or service of food in a temporary food facility. 3)Requires all food employees to follow specified hygienic practices, including handwashing and the use of gloves. 4)Requires food employees to report to the person in charge of a food facility when a food employee has a wound that is open or draining, unless specified conditions to cover or protect the wound are met. FISCAL EFFECT : This bill has not yet been analyzed by a fiscal committee. COMMENTS : 1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL . According to the sponsor, the California Retail Food Safety Coalition, a broad-based stakeholder group of government regulators and the retail food industry, this bill is intended as a clean-up measure to make several technical, non-controversial clarifications and conforming changes to the CRFC. The sponsor states that the AB 1252 Page 3 changes in this bill are needed to ensure the best and most effective implementation of the state's principal retail food sanitation law. Specifically, among other things, this bill clarifies provisions in the CRFC related to hand-washing procedures and glove use when working with food and establishes sanitary precautions that employees with wounds must take when coming into contact with food in order to eliminate cross-contamination and food-borne illness risk. The sponsor notes that the definition of hot dog is also needed to provide vendors with the legal parameters of what constitutes a hot dog and prevent a raw item, such as bratwurst, from being considered a hot dog because it requires more than limited food preparation and could make consumers sick, if not handled properly with regard to time and temperature controls. Lastly, the sponsor states that refrigerated food trailers are commonly used by restaurants and grocery stores during holidays, emergencies, remodels, or other high sales volume times, but the CRFC does not specifically authorize the use of any alternate storage methods and, as a result, LEHDs lack the ability to approve their use. This bill will allow LEHDs to authorize the use of trailers and other temporary food storage alternatives under these circumstances. 2)BACKGROUND . The CRFC is modeled after the federal Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Model Food Code (Food Code), which is updated every four years to enhance food safety laws based on the best available science. Between each four-year period, the FDA makes available a Food Code Supplement that updates, modifies, or clarifies certain provisions. The Food Code assists food control jurisdictions at all levels of government by providing them with a scientifically sound technical and legal basis for regulating the retail and food service segment of the industry, such as restaurants, grocery stores, and institutions like nursing homes. Forty-eight states and territories have adopted food codes patterned after the Food Code, representing 80% of the US population. 3)SUPPORT . The sponsor writes in support that it has been continuously reviewing and updating the CRFC since its inception to make it more consistent with the FDA Food Code and working to proactively address implementation issues through an open, inclusive and collaborative process. According to the sponsor, the changes in this bill, such as AB 1252 Page 4 updating food-to-hand contact practices; conforming changes to the definition of service animal; specifying handling requirements for cured meats such as hot dogs; and, clarifying requirements for employee dressing rooms and storage areas, represent consensus language drafted by the sponsor. The California Association of Environmental Health Administrators, which represents all county environmental health departments, notes in support that virtually all retail food safety requirements are contained in statute and the largely technical changes in this bill need to be done through legislation. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees adds that this bill enhances requirements for food preparation and sanitation and further protects all Californians from food-borne illness. 4)TECHNICAL AMENDMENT . On page 11, line 32, delete "nonresidential". 5)PRIOR LEGISLATION . a) SB 359 (Ed Hernandez) of 2012 would have enacted provisions substantially similar to this bill. These provisions were subsequently removed and the bill was amended to deal with a different subject. b) SB 946 (Steinberg), Chapter 650, Statutes of 2011, also would have included provisions substantially similar to this bill. These provisions were deleted and the chaptered version of SB 946 was amended to deal with health care coverage for pervasive developmental disorder or autism. c) SB 241 (George Runner), Chapter 571, Statutes of 2009, makes a number of clean up changes to the CRFC and provides for the regulation of temporary and mobile food facilities under the CRFC. d) SB 1359 (George Runner) of 2008, which was substantially similar to SB 241, was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger who, in his veto message, stated that it was due to the historic delay in passing the 2008-09 State Budget and the bill did not meet the standard of the highest priority for California. e) SB 744 (George Runner), Chapter 96, Statutes of 2007, makes numerous technical, clarifying, and nonsubstantive AB 1252 Page 5 changes to the CRFC. f) SB 144 (George Runner), Chapter 23, Statutes of 2006, repeals and reenacts the California Uniform Retail Food Facilities Law as the CRFC. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California Retail Food Safety Coalition (sponsor) American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees California Association of Environmental Health Administrators California Retailers Association Opposition None on file. Analysis Prepared by : Cassie Royce / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097