BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D., Chair
BILL NO: AB 1252
AUTHOR: Committee on Health
AMENDED: June 19, 2013
HEARING DATE: June 26, 2013
CONSULTANT: Marchand
SUBJECT : Retail food safety.
SUMMARY : Makes numerous technical, clarifying and conforming
changes to the California Retail Food Code.
Existing law:
1.Establishes the California Retail Food Code (Food Code) to
regulate retail food safety, which is enforced by local
environmental health officers.
2.Establishes, within the Food Code, provisions of law governing
"cottage food operations," which are defined, in part, as
having less than $35,000 in gross annual sales in 2013, rising
to $50,000 in 2015 and thereafter. Defines a "Class A"
cottage food operation as only engaging in direct sales, and
"Class B" as engaging in either direct or indirect sales, such
as from third-party retail food facilities.
3.Includes the steaming or boiling of hot dogs in the definition
of "limited food preparation," which does not have to meet all
of the requirements of the Food Code.
4.Requires food employees to minimize bare hand and arm contact
with non-prepackaged food that is in a ready-to-eat form,
which is defined as food that is edible without additional
preparation to achieve food safety.
This bill:
1.Defines "hot dog," for purposes of the Food Code, as a whole,
cured, cooked sausage that is skinless or stuffed in a casing,
that may be known as a frankfurter, frank, furter, wiener, red
hot, Vienna, bologna, garlic bologna, or knockwurst, and that
may be served in a bun or roll.
2.Revises the definition of a "service animal," for purposes of
the Food Code, to limit it to only dogs, and excludes any
other species of animals.
Continued---
AB 1252 | Page 2
3.Requires the work or tasks performed by a service animal, for
purposes of the Food Code, to be directly related to the
individual's disability, as specified, and specifies that the
crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence or the
provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or
companionship do not constitute work or tasks for purposes of
the Food Code.
4.Deletes a requirement that a lesion or wound be open or
draining before triggering certain specified reporting
requirements, and instead prohibits an employee with a wound
that is open or draining from handling food.
5.Specifies that a food employee who has a wound, which is
defined as a cut, sore, rash or lesion, is restricted from
food handling unless the food employee complies with all of
the following:
a. If the wound is located on the hand or wrist,
an impermeable cover, such as a finger cot or stall,
is protecting the wound, with a single-use glove worn
over the impermeable cover;
b. If the wound is located on exposed portions of
the arms, an impermeable cover protects the wound;
and,
c. If the wound is located on other parts of the
body, a dry, durable, tight-fitting bandage covers the
wound.
6.Clarifies that hand-washing is only required prior to
initially donning gloves for working with food, and not
between glove changes when no contamination of the gloves or
hands has occurred.
7.Repeals provisions of law that permit food employees to
minimize bare hand and arm contact with non-prepackaged food
that is in a ready-to-eat form, and instead prohibits food
employees from contacting exposed, ready-to-eat food with
their bare hands, using suitable utensils such as deli tissue,
spatulas, tongs, single-use gloves, or dispensing equipment.
8.Requires food employees to minimize bare hand and arm contact
with exposed food that is not in a ready-to-eat form.
9.Permits food employees to contact exposed, ready-to-eat food
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with bare hands at the time the ready-to-eat food is being
added as an ingredient to a food that is going to be cooked to
specified temperatures.
10.Permits food employees not serving a highly susceptible
population to contact exposed, ready-to-eat food with their
bare hands if specified requirements are met, including the
following:
a. The retail food facility permit holder obtains
prior approval from the regulatory authority;
b. Written procedures are maintained in the food
facility that include a list of the specific
ready-to-eat foods that are touched by bare hands, and
diagrams and other information showing that
hand-washing facilities are in an easily accessible
location and in close proximity to the work station
where the bare hand contact procedures is being
conducted;
c. A written employee health policy that details
the manner in which the food facility complies with
specified provisions of law, including provisions
requiring employees to report to their managers about
their health as it relates to gastrointestinal
symptoms and diseases that are transmittable through
food;
d. Documentation that food employees have
received training, as specified, including proper
hand-washing techniques, good hygienic practices, and
the risks of contacting the specific ready-to-eat
foods with bare hands; and,
e. Documentation that food employees contacting
ready-to-eat foods with bare hands use two or more of
the following control measures: double hand-washing,
nail brushes, a hand antiseptic after hand-washing, or
incentive programs such as paid sick leave to
encourage food employees not to report to work if they
are ill.
11.Permits temporary alternative food storage methods and
locations to be approved by the local enforcement agency.
12.Prohibits equipment and utensils, after they have been
cleaned and sanitized, from being rinsed before air drying or
use unless the rinse is applied directly from a potable water
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supply by a ware-washing machine that meets specified
requirements, or the rinse is applied only after the equipment
and utensils have been sanitized by the application of hot
water or by the application of a chemical sanitizer whose
instructions requiring rinsing off the sanitizer after it is
applied.
13.Exempts employee dressing and locker areas from requirements
that floors, walls and ceilings be smooth and of durable
construction and non-absorbent material that is easily
cleanable.
14.Clarifies that existing law prohibiting the use of artificial
trans-fats applies to mobile food facilities and mobile
support units, and to temporary food facilities.
15.Requires potable water and liquid waste disposal facilities
to be available to mobile food facilities requiring potable
water in order for mobile food facilities that are operating
at community events, to be exempt from operating in
conjunction with a commissary or mobile support unit.
16.Increases the minimum capacity of water heaters required for
mobile food facilities from three gallons to four gallons for
facilities that have a ware-washing sink, but grandfathers in
existing three gallon water tanks.
17.Permits a local enforcement agency to allow a temporary food
facility, operating no more than four hours per day at a
single event, to provide an adequate supply of washed and
sanitized utensils in lieu of a ware-washing sink.
18.Permits a local enforcement agency to allow up to eight
temporary food facilities to share a ware-washing sink, rather
than the current limit of up to four.
19.Limits the definition of "direct sale," for purposes of
provisions of law pertaining to cottage food operations, to
transactions that are within the state.
20.Requires a "Class A" cottage food operation to renew its
registration annually.
21.Requires a person who prepares or packages cottage food
products to complete a food processor course every three years
during operation, in addition to the existing law requirement
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that a course be completed within three months of becoming
registered.
22.Requires the words "Repackaged in a Home Kitchen" to be
included on a cottage food product display panel, if
applicable rather than the existing law requirement of "Made
in a Home Kitchen," along with a description of any purchased
whole, ready-to-eat product that is not used as an ingredient.
23.Makes other technical and clarifying changes to the Food
Code.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, there are no significant costs associated with this
bill.
PRIOR VOTES :
Assembly Health: 18- 0
Assembly Appropriations:17- 0
Assembly Floor: 76- 0
COMMENTS :
1.Author's statement. This bill is intended as a clean-up
measure to make several technical, non-controversial
clarifications and conforming changes to the Food Code. The
changes in this bill are needed to ensure the best and most
effective implementation of the state's principal retail food
sanitation law. The provisions of this bill reflect consensus
reached by the sponsor, the California Retail Food Safety
Coalition, a broad-based stakeholder group comprised of
federal, state and local regulators and the retail food
industry. If opposition to any of these provisions arises,
those provisions will be removed from the bill.
Specifically, the author states that this bill: a) defines the
term "hot dog in the Food Code and clarifies that the
reheating and selling of hot dogs constitutes limited food
preparation; b) conforms the definition of "service animal" to
the definition contained in the federal Americans with
Disability Act; c) requires food handler employees to wash
their hands before initially donning gloves for working with
food and when changing tasks rather than every time they put
on gloves; d) clarifies that hand-washing is not required
between glove changes when no contamination of the gloves or
hands has occurred; e) specifies the circumstances under which
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single-use gloves must be worn and prohibits these gloves from
being re-used; f) 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;
g) authorizes local enforcement agencies to approve temporary
alternative storage methods and locations; h) makes clarifying
changes related to cleansing and sanitization of equipment and
utensils, floor, wall and ceiling surface requirements for
employee dressing rooms and locker areas; i) specifies potable
water requirements for mobile food facilities that operate at
community events; j) clarifies adequate water heater capacity
requirements for mobile food facilities with dish washing
sinks; and k) specifies that existing law prohibiting the use
of trans fats in all food facilities applies to mobile food
facilities, mobile support units, and temporary food
facilities that operate at a swap meet or community event.
2.Issues being addressed by this bill. According to the author,
most of the problems that this bill is addressing are
technical. The author gave three specific examples:
a. Hot dogs. The Food Code currently allows hot holding
of hot dogs on carts, as was formerly accepted under
California's previous food safety law (the California
Uniform Retail Food Facility Law, which was repealed and
replaced with the Food Code in 2006). However, the
statutory definition of "hot dog" was deleted when the
Food Code was enacted. This definition is necessary to
clarify that a bratwurst, for example, is not considered
a hot dog because it is fresh and uncured, and requires
more than limited food preparation and could make
consumers sick if not handled properly with regard to
time and temperature controls.
b. Service animals. The federal regulations for the
Americans with Disabilities Act were revised in 2010.
Among these revisions, the definition of "service animal"
was revised and clarified; the definition of "service
animal" in the Food Code is not consistent with this
revised definition.
c. Temporary alternative food storage. Refrigerated
food trailers are commonly used by restaurants and
grocery stores during holidays, emergencies, remodels, or
other high sales volume times, but the Food Code does not
specifically authorize the use of any alternative storage
methods. This bill permits local health agencies to
approve temporary alternative food storage methods and
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locations.
3.Prior legislation. SB 359 (Hernandez) of 2012 would have
enacted provisions substantially similar to this bill. These
provisions were subsequently removed and the bill was amended
to address a different subject matter.
SB 946 (Steinberg), Chapter 650, Statutes of 2011, also would
have included provisions substantially similar to this bill.
These provisions were deleted and the bill was amended to
address a different subject matter.
SB 241 (George Runner), Chapter 571, Statutes of 2009, enacted a
number of clean up changes to the Food Code and provided for
the regulation of temporary and mobile food facilities under
the Food Code.
SB 1359 (George Runner) of 2008, was substantially similar to SB
241. This bill was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. In his
veto message, the Governor 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.
SB 744 (George Runner), Chapter 96, Statutes of 2007, enacted
numerous technical, clarifying, and non-substantive changes to
the Food Code.
SB 144 (George Runner), Chapter 23, Statutes of 2006, repealed
and reenacted the California Uniform Retail Food Facilities
Law as the Food Code.
4.Support. The California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators (CAEHA), which represents all 62 local
environmental health departments, states in support that
because virtually all retail food safety requirements are
contained in statute, changes to retail food safety need to be
done through legislation. CAEHA states that fifteen years
ago, local, state and federal regulators, representatives from
all sectors of the retail food industry, academia and other
public and private stakeholders formed the California Retail
Food Safety Coalition in order to work on retail food safety
issues. Since its inception, this coalition has been
continuously reviewing and updating the Food Code to make it
more consistent with the model federal food safety code and
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have been proactively addressing the Food Code implementation
issues in an open, inclusive and collaborative process. CAEHA
states that the changes contained in this bill represent
consensus language drafted by the coalition. The California
Retailers Association (CRA) states in support that it is a
founding member of the California Retail Food Safety
Coalition. The CRA states that although technical in nature,
this bill updates food-to-hand contact practice, conforms
federal law changes to the definition of service animals,
clarifies food worker health requirements, and updates
handling requirements for certain cured meats. The American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO,
states that this bill streamlines requirements for food
preparation and sanitation, and further protects all
Californians from diseases and illness.
5.What is a "Highly Susceptible Population?" This bill generally
prohibits food employees from contacting ready-to-eat food
with their bare hands, but permits bare hand contact in
limited, specified circumstances as long as the food employees
are "not serving a highly susceptible population." This term
is not defined in the bill, and it is unclear how local
enforcement agencies will enforce this provision.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION :
Support: American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
California Retailers Association
California Association of Environmental Health
Officers
Oppose: None received
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