BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1252| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1252 Author: Assembly Health Committee Amended: 7/2/13 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/26/13 AYES: Hernandez, Anderson, Beall, De León, DeSaulnier, Monning, Nielsen, Pavley, Wolk SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 4/25/13 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Retail food safety SOURCE : California Retail Food Safety Coalition DIGEST : This bill makes numerous technical, clarifying and conforming changes to the California Retail Food Code. ANALYSIS : 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 CONTINUED AB 1252 Page 2 "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 "highly susceptible population" to mean a group of persons who are more likely than other people in the general population to experience foodborne disease because both of the following conditions exist: A. The group is comprised of immunocompromised persons, preschool age children, or older adults; B. The group obtains food at a facility, including, but not limited to, a child or adult day care center, kidney dialysis center, hospital, nursing home, or senior center, that provides services, such as custodial care, health care, assisted living, or socialization services. 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. 3.Requires the work or tasks performed by a service animal, for purposes of the Food Code, to be directly related to the CONTINUED AB 1252 Page 3 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. 1.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. 2.Repeals requirements that food employees minimize bare hand and arm contact with non-prepackaged food that is in a ready-to-eat-form and instead requires food employees to minimize bard hand and arm contact with exposed food that is not in a ready-to-eat form. 3.Repeals the provision that permits food employees to assemble or place on tableware or in other containers ready-to-eat food in an approved food preparation area without using utensils if hands are cleaned. 4. Permits food employees to contact exposed, ready-to-eat food CONTINUED AB 1252 Page 4 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. 5. 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. 1. Permits temporary alternative food storage methods and locations to be approved by the local enforcement agency. 2. Prohibits equipment and utensils, after they have been CONTINUED AB 1252 Page 5 cleaned and sanitized, from being rinsed before air drying or use unless the rinse is applied directly from a potable water 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. 3. 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. 4. 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. 5. 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. 6. 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. 7. 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. 8. 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. 9. Limits the definition of "direct sale," for purposes of provisions of law pertaining to cottage food operations, to transactions that are within the state. 10.Requires a "Class A" cottage food operation to renew its registration annually. CONTINUED AB 1252 Page 6 11.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 that a course be completed within three months of becoming registered. 12.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. 13.Makes other technical and clarifying changes to the Food Code. Comments According to the author, most of the problems that this bill is addressing are technical. The author gave three specific examples: 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. 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. Temporary alternative food storage. Refrigerated food CONTINUED AB 1252 Page 7 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 locations. Prior Legislation SB 359 (Hernandez, 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, 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. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes SUPPORT : (Verified 8/12/13) CONTINUED AB 1252 Page 8 California Retail Food Safety Coalition (source) American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO California Retailers Association California Association of Environmental Health Administrators ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, 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. 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 the changes contained in this bill represent consensus language drafted by the coalition. The California Retailers Association states in support 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. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 4/25/13 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, CONTINUED AB 1252 Page 9 Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Cooley, Lowenthal, Nazarian, Vacancy JL:nl 8/16/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED