BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1252|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1252
Author: Assembly Health Committee
Amended: 8/20/13 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.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/20/13 (1) revise the definition of
highly susceptible population" by deleting a reference to child
or adult day care centers, (2) clarify the definition of
"service animal" to include those animals that are in training
to be service animals, and deletes from this definition the
requirements that the work or tasks performed by a service
animal be directly related to the individual's disability, (3)
delete a requirement for hand washing between glove changes, and
(4) make other technical and clarifying changes.
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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
"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 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,
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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.Defines "service animal" as any dog that is individually
trained do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an
individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory,
psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability, or that
is in training to do that work or perform those tasks.
Clarifies this definition is limited to only dogs and excludes
any other species of animals.
3.Requires the work or tasks performed by a service animal to
include assisting individuals who are blind or have low
vision, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing,
providing nonviolent protection or rescue work, pulling a
wheelchair, assisting an individual during a seizure,
retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone, providing
physical support and assistance with balance and stability to
individuals with mobility disabilities, or helping persons
with psychiatric and neurological disabilities. Clarifies
that the crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence and
the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or
companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes
of this bill.
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,
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C. If the wound is located on other parts of the body, a
dry, durable, tight-fitting bandage covers the wound.
1.Clarifies that single-use gloves cannot be washed and are
required to be worn when contacting food and food-contact
surfaces if the employee has any cuts, sores, rashes,
artificial nails, nail polish, rings (other than a plain ring,
such as a wedding band), uncleanable orthopedic support
devices, or fingernails that are not clean, smooth, or neatly
trimmed. Whenever gloves are worn, they shall be changed,
replaced, or washed as often as hand washing is required, as
defined. .
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
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;
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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
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
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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.
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
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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
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.
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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 8/21/13)
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
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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,
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 8/21/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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