Senate Bill No. 411

Introduced by Senator Wolk

February 20, 2013

An act to amend Sections 112876, 112876.5, 112877, and 112894 of the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Section 1 of Chapter 694 of the Statutes of 2008, relating to food.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 411, as introduced, Wolk. Food labeling: olive oil.

Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to enforce various provisions of existing law regarding the manufacture, blending, production, and sale of olive oil. Existing law defines olive oil and olive oil grades, such as virgin olive oils and olive-pomace oil, and provides that olive oil grades are to be in a specified hierachy.

This bill would make technical changes to those provisions.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 112876 of the Health and Safety Code
is amended to read:

112876.  

The begin delete hierarchy end delete begin insert scale end insert for virgin olive oil grades shall
be, from highest to lowest, extra-virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil,
and virgin olive oil not fit for human consumption, begin delete sometimes end delete begin insert also end insert
known as lampante virgin olive oil, which shall be the lowest level
of quality among the virgin olive oils. In terms of begin delete hierarchy end delete begin insert scale end insert ,
olive oil and refined olive oil shall fall below the virgin olive oil
category. Olive oil grades shall be in the following categories:

(a) Virgin olive oils.

(1) Extra virgin olive oil.

(2) Virgin olive oil.

(3) Virgin olive oil not fit for human consumption without
further processing, begin delete sometimes end delete begin insert also end insert known as lampante virgin olive
oil.

(b) Olive oil.

(c) Refined olive oil.

SEC. 2.  

Section 112876.5 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

112876.5.  

The begin delete hierarchy end delete begin insert scale end insert for olive-pomace oil grades
shall be, from highest to lowest, olive-pomace oil, refined
olive-pomace oil, and crude olive-pomace oil, which is the lowest
level of quality among the olive-pomace oils. Olive-pomace oil
grades shall be in the following categories:

(a) Olive-pomace oil.

(b) Refined olive-pomace oil.

(c) Crude olive-pomace oil.

SEC. 3.  

Section 112877 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

112877.  

Olive oil grades are defined as follows:

(a) “Virgin olive oils” are the oils obtained from the fruit of the
olive tree solely by mechanical or other physical means under
conditions, including thermal conditions, that do not lead to
alterations in the oil, and that have not undergone any treatment
other than washing, decanting, centrifuging, and filtration. Virgin
olive oils without further processing include:

(1) “Extra virgin olive oil” is virgin olive oil that has excellent
flavor and odor expressed as a median of defects equal to zero and
a median of fruitiness greater than zero, has a free fatty acid
content, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.8 grams per
100 grams oil, has a peroxide value of not more than 20
milliequivalent peroxide oxygen per kilogram oil and meets the
additional requirements for “United States Extra Virgin Olive Oil”
outlined in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil
and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the Federal Register that are
in effect on October 25, 2010.

(2) “Virgin olive oil” is virgin olive oil that has reasonably good
flavor and odor expressed as a median of defects between zero
and 2.5 and a median of fruitiness greater than zero, has a free
fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 2 grams
per 100 grams oil, has a peroxide value of not more than 20
milliequivalent peroxide oxygen per kilogram oil, and meets the
additional requirements for “United States Virgin Olive Oil”
outlined in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil
and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the Federal Register that are
in effect on October 25, 2010.

(3) “Virgin olive oil not fit for human consumption without
further processing,” begin delete sometimes end delete begin insert also end insert known as “lampante virgin
olive oil,” is virgin olive oil which has poor flavor and odor
expressed as a median of defects between 2.5 and 6.0 or when the
median of defects is less than or equal to 2.5 and the median of
fruitiness is zero, has a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic
acid, of more than 2 grams per 100 grams, and meets the additional
requirements of the “United States Virgin Olive Oil Not Fit For
Human Consumption Without Further Processing” as outlined in
the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and
Olive-Pomace Oil published in the Federal Register that are in
effect on October 25, 2010. This grade of olive oil is intended for
refining or for purposes other than food use.

(b) “Olive oil” is the oil consisting of a blend of refined olive
oil and virgin olive oils fit for consumption without further
processing. It has a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid,
of not more than 1 gram per 100 grams oil and meets the additional
requirements for “United States Olive Oil” described in the United
States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil
published in the Federal Register that are in effect on October 25,
2010.

(c) “Refined olive oil” is the olive oil obtained from virgin olive
oils by refining methods that do not lead to alterations in the initial
glyceridic structure (basic glycerin-fatty acid content). It has a free
fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.3
grams per 100 grams oil, and meets the additional requirements
for “United States Refined Olive Oil” described in the United
States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil
published in the Federal Register that are in effect on October 25,
2010.

(d) “Olive-pomace oil” is oil obtained by treating olive pomace,
which is the product that remains after the mechanical extraction
of olive oil, with solvents or other physical treatments, to the
exclusion of oils obtained by synthetic processes and a mixture
with oils of other kinds. Olive-pomace oils shall be labeled and
marketed with the following designations and definitions:

(1) “Olive-pomace oil” is the oil comprising the blend of refined
olive-pomace oil and virgin olive oils fit for consumption without
further processing. It has a free fatty acid content, expressed as
oleic acid, of not more than 1 gram per 100 grams oil, and meets
the additional requirements for “United States Olive-Pomace Oil”
outlined in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil
and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the Federal Register that are
in effect on October 25, 2010.

(2) “Refined olive-pomace oil” is the oil obtained from crude
olive-pomace oil by refining methods that do not lead to alterations
in the initial glyceridic structure. It has a free fatty acid content,
expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.3 grams per 100 grams
oil, and meets the additional requirements for “United States
Refined Olive-Pomace Oil” outlined in the United States Standards
for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil Published in the
Federal Register that are in effect on October 25, 2010.

(3) “Crude olive-pomace oil” is olive-pomace oil that is intended
for refining for use for human consumption or that is intended for
technical use and that meets the requirements for “United States
Crude Olive-Pomace Oil” outlined in the United States Standards
for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the
Federal Register that are in effect on October 25, 2010.

SEC. 4.  

Section 112894 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

112894.  

Virgin olive oil not fit for human consumption,
begin delete sometimes end delete begin insert also end insert known as lampante virgin olive oil, shall be refined
before consumption.

SEC. 5.  

Section 1 of Chapter 694 of the Statutes of 2008 is
amended to read:

Section 1.  

The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) Extra virgin olive oil has been shown by numerous scientific
studies to be associated with fighting cardiovascular disease and
providing other health benefits.

(b) California grows and processes more than 99 percent of the
extra virgin olive oil produced in the United States, and more than
90 percent of California olive oil meets the international standards
for top-grade “extra virgin” as established by the International
Olive Council.

(c) The quality of California olive oil is comparable to begin delete other end delete begin insert the
highest quality end insert the highest quality producers internationally.

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that California’s definitions
of olive oil be consistent with international standards.