BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1235
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 24, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Richard Pan, Chair
SB 1235 (Knight) - As Amended: June 19, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 36-0
SUBJECT : Prepackaged food.
SUMMARY : Expands an exemption from provisions of the California
Retail Food Code (CRFC) premises set aside for a beer tasting
facility that currently serves chips and pretzels to include
prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous food for onsite
consumption. Requires a beer tasting facility that sells
prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous foods to comply with
general provisions of the CRFC relating to proper storage of
food, inspection, and enforcement provisions, impoundment of
food, penalties, and owner/operator responsibilities; limits the
food display area to less than 25 square feet.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the CRFC, which establishes health and sanitation
standards for retail food facilities, as defined. Makes the
Department of Public Health responsible for the adoption of
regulations to implement and administer CRFC, and vests local
enforcement agencies with primary responsibility for
enforcement of CRFC.
2)Defines a food facility as an operation that stores, prepares,
packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human
consumption, on or off the premises, regardless of whether
there is a charge, at the retail level. Food facilities
include, but are not limited to, permanent and nonpermanent
facilities, public and private school cafeterias, restricted
food service facilities, licensed health care facilities,
commissaries, mobile food facilities, mobile support units,
temporary food facilities, vending machines, certified
farmers' markets, and farm stands.
3)Establishes a tiered statewide standard to permit non-grocery
retailers with limited food display areas to sell prepackaged,
non-potentially hazardous food products. Requires compliance
with general provisions of the CRFC and definitions. Requires
varying compliance - depending on the square footage of the
SB 1235
Page 2
food display area of the facility - with CRFC provisions
relating to proper storage of food, inspection and enforcement
provisions, impoundment of food, penalties, and owner/operator
responsibilities.
4)Exempts from the definition of a food facility, and therefore
from the provisions of CRFC, premises set aside for wine
tasting if no other beverage, except for bottles of wine and
prepackaged non-potentially hazardous beverages, is offered
for sale for onsite consumption, and no food, except for
crackers, is served.
5)Exempts from the definition of a food facility, and from the
provisions of CRFC, premises set aside by a beer manufacturer,
as defined, for the purposes of beer tasting, if no other
beverage, except for beer and prepackaged non-potentially
hazardous beverages, is offered for sale for onsite
consumption, and no food, except for crackers or pretzels, is
served.-
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS :
1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL . According to the author, this bill
provides a much needed convenience for breweries in California
to offer an additional service for their customers in this
cash-strapped economy. The author further states that
allowing brewery tasting rooms to sell prepackaged foods,
rather than just prepackaged soda, water, and tea gives
businesses more flexibility and more service to offer to their
customers.
2)BACKGROUND . The CRFC is patterned after the federal Food and
Drug Administration's (FDA's) Food Code, which is a model for
local, state, and federal jurisdictions that are responsible
for ensuring food safety. According to the FDA, the Food Code
represents FDA's best advice, updated every four years, for a
uniform system of provisions that address the safety and
protection of food offered at retail and in food service.
Forty-eight states and territories have adopted food codes
patterned after the Food Code, representing 80% of the U.S.
population.
3)SUPPORT . Bravery Brewing Company (BBC) writes that this bill
SB 1235
Page 3
provides a win-win situation because it allows breweries to
offer convenience to patrons who wish to enjoy a snack, while
also generating increased sales revenue for the brewery. BBC
further states that they wish to provide patrons with safe
food items while drinking, but are not interested in becoming
a restaurant.
4)PREVIOUS LEGISLATION . AB 1014 (Fletcher), Chapter 159,
Statutes of 2011, exempts from CRFC definition of a food
facility premises set aside by a beer manufacturer for beer
tasting if no food except chips and pretzels is served.
AB 2432 (John A. Pérez), Chapter 682, Statutes of 2010,
exempts small retail markets that sell limited amounts of
prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous food from most of the
CRFC. Requires compliance with general CRFC provisions
relating to proper storage of food, inspection and enforcement
provisions, impoundment of food, penalties, and owner/operator
responsibilities.
SB 144 (Runner), Chapter 23, Statutes of 2006, established the
CRFC in order to create uniformity between California's retail
food safety laws and those of other states, as well as to
enhance food safety laws based on the best available science.
AB 1778 (Areias), Chapter 1065, Statutes of 1985, exempts from
CRFC definition of a food facility premises set aside for wine
tasting if no food except chips is served.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Bravery Brewing Company
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Dharia McGrew / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097