Amended in Senate April 1, 2013

Senate BillNo. 411


Introduced by Senator Wolk

February 20, 2013


begin deleteAn 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. end deletebegin insertAn act to amend Section 112895 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to food labeling.end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

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

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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 requires any olive oil produced, processed, sold, offered for sale, given away, or possessed in this state, that indicates on its label that it is from an area that is one of the approved American Viticultural Areas under federal law, to be made of oil 75% of which is derived solely from olives grown in that approved American Viticultural Area. Existing law makes the violation of these provisions a crime.

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This bill would require that olive oil be made of oil derived solely from olives grown in the American Viticultural Area that is indicated on the olive oil label. By changing the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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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.

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

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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.

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This bill would make technical changes to those provisions.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: begin deleteno end deletebegin insertyesend insert. State-mandated local program: begin deleteno end deletebegin insertyesend insert.

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

P2    1begin insert

begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

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begin insertSection 112895 of the end insertbegin insertHealth and Safety Codeend insertbegin insert is
2amended to read:end insert

3

112895.  

(a) It is unlawful to manufacture, sell, offer for sale,
4give away, or to possess imitation olive oil in California.

5(b) This section does not prohibit the blending of olive oil with
6other edible oils, if the blend is not labeled as olive oil or imitation
7olive oil, is clearly labeled as a blended vegetable oil, and if the
8contents and proportions of the blend are prominently displayed
9on the container’s label, or if the oil is a flavored olive oil.

10(c) Any olive oil produced, processed, sold, offered for sale,
11given away, or possessed in California, that indicates on its label
12“California Olive Oil,” or uses words of similar import that indicate
13that California is the source of the oil, shall be made of oil derived
14solely from olives grown in California.

15(d) Any olive oil produced, processed, sold, offered for sale,
16given away, or possessed in California, that indicates on its label
17that it is from an area that is one of the approved American
18Viticultural Areas as set forth in Part 9 (commencing with Sec.
199.1) of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations shall be made
20of oilbegin delete 75 percent of which isend delete derived solely from olives grown in
21that approved American Viticultural Area.

22(e) Olive-pomace oil shall not be labeled as olive oil.

23begin insert

begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

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No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
24Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
25the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
26district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
27infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
P3    1for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
2the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
3the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
4Constitution.

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5

SECTION 1.  

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

7

112876.  

The scale for virgin olive oil grades shall be, from
8highest to lowest, extra-virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil, and virgin
9olive oil not fit for human consumption, also known as lampante
10virgin olive oil, which shall be the lowest level of quality among
11the virgin olive oils. In terms of scale, olive oil and refined olive
12oil shall fall below the virgin olive oil category. Olive oil grades
13shall be in the following categories:

14(a) Virgin olive oils.

15(1) Extra virgin olive oil.

16(2) Virgin olive oil.

17(3) Virgin olive oil not fit for human consumption without
18further processing, also known as lampante virgin olive oil.

19(b) Olive oil.

20(c) Refined olive oil.

21

SEC. 2.  

Section 112876.5 of the Health and Safety Code is
22amended to read:

23

112876.5.  

The scale for olive-pomace oil grades shall be, from
24highest to lowest, olive-pomace oil, refined olive-pomace oil, and
25crude olive-pomace oil, which is the lowest level of quality among
26the olive-pomace oils. Olive-pomace oil grades shall be in the
27following categories:

28(a) Olive-pomace oil.

29(b) Refined olive-pomace oil.

30(c) Crude olive-pomace oil.

31

SEC. 3.  

Section 112877 of the Health and Safety Code is
32amended to read:

33

112877.  

Olive oil grades are defined as follows:

34(a) “Virgin olive oils” are the oils obtained from the fruit of the
35olive tree solely by mechanical or other physical means under
36conditions, including thermal conditions, that do not lead to
37alterations in the oil, and that have not undergone any treatment
38other than washing, decanting, centrifuging, and filtration. Virgin
39olive oils without further processing include:

P4    1(1) “Extra virgin olive oil” is virgin olive oil that has excellent
2flavor and odor expressed as a median of defects equal to zero and
3a median of fruitiness greater than zero, has a free fatty acid
4content, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.8 grams per
5100 grams oil, has a peroxide value of not more than 20
6milliequivalent peroxide oxygen per kilogram oil and meets the
7additional requirements for “United States Extra Virgin Olive Oil”
8outlined in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil
9and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the Federal Register that are
10in effect on October 25, 2010.

11(2) “Virgin olive oil” is virgin olive oil that has reasonably good
12flavor and odor expressed as a median of defects between zero
13and 2.5 and a median of fruitiness greater than zero, has a free
14fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 2 grams
15per 100 grams oil, has a peroxide value of not more than 20
16milliequivalent peroxide oxygen per kilogram oil, and meets the
17additional requirements for “United States Virgin Olive Oil”
18outlined in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil
19and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the Federal Register that are
20in effect on October 25, 2010.

21(3) “Virgin olive oil not fit for human consumption without
22further processing,” also known as “lampante virgin olive oil,” is
23virgin olive oil which has poor flavor and odor expressed as a
24median of defects between 2.5 and 6.0 or when the median of
25defects is less than or equal to 2.5 and the median of fruitiness is
26zero, has a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, of more
27than 2 grams per 100 grams, and meets the additional requirements
28of the “United States Virgin Olive Oil Not Fit For Human
29Consumption Without Further Processing” as outlined in the United
30States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil
31published in the Federal Register that are in effect on October 25,
322010. This grade of olive oil is intended for refining or for purposes
33other than food use.

34(b) “Olive oil” is the oil consisting of a blend of refined olive
35oil and virgin olive oils fit for consumption without further
36processing. It has a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid,
37 of not more than 1 gram per 100 grams oil and meets the additional
38requirements for “United States Olive Oil” described in the United
39States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil
P5    1published in the Federal Register that are in effect on October 25,
22010.

3(c) “Refined olive oil” is the olive oil obtained from virgin olive
4oils by refining methods that do not lead to alterations in the initial
5glyceridic structure (basic glycerin-fatty acid content). It has a free
6fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.3
7grams per 100 grams oil, and meets the additional requirements
8for “United States Refined Olive Oil” described in the United
9States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil
10published in the Federal Register that are in effect on October 25,
112010.

12(d) “Olive-pomace oil” is oil obtained by treating olive pomace,
13which is the product that remains after the mechanical extraction
14of olive oil, with solvents or other physical treatments, to the
15exclusion of oils obtained by synthetic processes and a mixture
16with oils of other kinds. Olive-pomace oils shall be labeled and
17marketed with the following designations and definitions:

18(1) “Olive-pomace oil” is the oil comprising the blend of refined
19olive-pomace oil and virgin olive oils fit for consumption without
20further processing. It has a free fatty acid content, expressed as
21oleic acid, of not more than 1 gram per 100 grams oil, and meets
22the additional requirements for “United States Olive-Pomace Oil”
23outlined in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil
24and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the Federal Register that are
25in effect on October 25, 2010.

26(2) “Refined olive-pomace oil” is the oil obtained from crude
27olive-pomace oil by refining methods that do not lead to alterations
28in the initial glyceridic structure. It has a free fatty acid content,
29expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.3 grams per 100 grams
30oil, and meets the additional requirements for “United States
31Refined Olive-Pomace Oil” outlined in the United States Standards
32for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil Published in the
33Federal Register that are in effect on October 25, 2010.

34(3) “Crude olive-pomace oil” is olive-pomace oil that is intended
35for refining for use for human consumption or that is intended for
36technical use and that meets the requirements for “United States
37Crude Olive-Pomace Oil” outlined in the United States Standards
38for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the
39Federal Register that are in effect on October 25, 2010.

P6    1

SEC. 4.  

Section 112894 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
2to read:

3

112894.  

Virgin olive oil not fit for human consumption, also
4known as lampante virgin olive oil, shall be refined before
5consumption.

6

SEC. 5.  

Section 1 of Chapter 694 of the Statutes of 2008 is
7amended to read:

8

Section 1.  

The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
9following:

10(a) Extra virgin olive oil has been shown by numerous scientific
11studies to be associated with fighting cardiovascular disease and
12providing other health benefits.

13(b) California grows and processes more than 99 percent of the
14extra virgin olive oil produced in the United States, and more than
1590 percent of California olive oil meets the international standards
16for top-grade “extra virgin” as established by the International
17Olive Council.

18(c) The quality of California olive oil is comparable to the
19highest quality the highest quality producers internationally.

20(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that California’s definitions
21of olive oil be consistent with international standards.

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