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