California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1430

Introduced by Committee on Agriculture (Eggman (Chair), Olsen (Vice Chair), Dahle, Pan, Quirk, and Yamada)

August 29, 2013

An act to amend Sections 27510 and 27519 of the Food and Agricultural Code, and to add Article 8.5 (commencing with Section 110963) to Chapter 5 of Part 5 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to eggs.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1430, as introduced, Committee on Agriculture. Pasteurized in-shell eggs.

Existing law requires egg handlers to register with the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, and generally sets forth standards for shell eggs. Existing law imposes specified requirements relating to packing and labeling shell eggs, and makes a violation of those provisions a crime. Existing law, the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, requires the State Department of Health Services to regulate manufacturing, sale, labeling, and advertising activities related to food, drugs, devices, and cosmetics in conformity with the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. A violation of the law is a misdemeanor.

This bill would exclude pasteurized in-shell eggs from the provisions that are generally applicable to shell eggs, and would impose labeling requirements on egg handlers of pasteurized in-shell eggs, as defined, under the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, as provided. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 27510 of the Food and Agricultural Code
is amended to read:

27510.  

“Egg handler” means a person engaged in the business
of producing, candling, grading, packing, or otherwise preparing
shell eggs begin insert or pasteurized in-shell eggs end insert for market or who engages
in the operation of selling or marketing eggs that he or she has
produced, purchased, or acquired from a producer, or which he or
she is marketing on behalf of a producer, whether as owner, agent,
employee, or otherwise. This section shall not apply to any
purchaser who is a retailer and who does not handle eggs in any
other capacity, except as a retailer.

SEC. 2.  

Section 27519 of the Food and Agricultural Code is
amended to read:

27519.  

“Shell eggs” means begin insert any in-shell end insert eggs begin insert other than
pasteurized in-shell eggs, as defined in Section 110964 of the
Health and Safety Code end insert .

SEC. 3.  

Article 8.5 (commencing with Section 110963) is
added to Chapter 5 of Part 5 of Division 104 of the Health and
Safety Code, to read:

 

Article 8.5.  Pasteurized In-Shell Eggs

 

110963.  

(a) It is unlawful for an egg handler, as defined in
Section 27510 of the Food and Agricultural Code, of pasteurized
in-shell eggs to sell, offer for sale, or expose for sale pasteurized
in-shell eggs that are packed for human consumption unless both
of the following conditions are met:

(1) The consumer container is conspicuously labeled “keep
refrigerated” or with words of similar meaning. Consumer
container labeling that complies with the safe handling instructions
required by Section 101.17 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal
Regulations shall be deemed to comply with this paragraph.

(2) A conspicuous sign is posted at the point of sale for
pasteurized in-shell eggs on bulk display advising consumers that
the pasteurized in-shell eggs are to be refrigerated as soon as
practical after purchase.

(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), it is unlawful for an
egg handler to sell, offer for sale, or expose for sale pasteurized
in-shell eggs that are packed for human consumption unless each
container intended for sale to the ultimate consumer is labeled on
one outside top, side, or end with all of the following:

(1) The words “sell by” immediately followed by the month
and day in bold type. Common abbreviations for months may be
used.

(A) The sell-by date shall not exceed 75 days from the date on
which the pasteurized in-shell eggs were pasteurized, excluding
the date of pasteurization. Processors of in-shell eggs that subject
the eggs to the pasteurization process shall establish a sell-by date
by completion of an appropriate shelf stability study that includes
public health and safety criteria. The processor shall retain the
study on file at the processing plant and make it available to the
department upon request.

(B) If the pasteurized in-shell eggs are repacked, the original
sell-by date shall apply.

(2) A Julian pack date. As used in this paragraph, the Julian
pack date is the consecutive day of the year on which the
pasteurized in-shell eggs were pasteurized.

(3) The identification number of the plant of origin.

(4) A conspicuous identification of the eggs as “pasteurized.”

(5) All state and federal labeling requirements.

(c) This section does not apply to pasteurized in-shell eggs that
are packaged for export.

(d) Paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) does not apply to pasteurized
in-shell eggs that are packaged for interstate commerce or
pasteurized in-shell eggs that are packaged for military sales if
exported to a state or federal agency that requires a different format
for the sell-by or best-if-used-by date on pasteurized eggs, and
the processor is utilizing that format.

(e) All pasteurized in-shell eggs returned from grocery stores,
store warehouses, and institutions shall not be reprocessed for any
retail in-shell egg sales.

(f) (1) The department, in consultation with the Shell Egg
Advisory Committee, established pursuant Section 27571 of the
Food and Agricultural Code, shall establish a plant identification
numbering system and assign identification numbers to all
pasteurized in-shell egg handling facilities.

(2) For purposes of complying with paragraph (3) of subdivision
(b), a pasteurized in-shell egg handling facility that is inspected
by the United States Department of Agriculture or the federal Food
and Drug Administration, and to which a federal plant identification
number has been assigned, may use the federal identification
number, the identification number assigned by the department, or
both.

110964.  

“Pasteurized in-shell eggs” means shell eggs that have
been pasteurized by any method approved by the federal Food and
Drug Administration or the department.

SEC. 4.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.