BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 234|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 234
Author: Gordon (D)
Amended: 9/4/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE: 8-0, 6/24/15
AYES: Hernandez, Nguyen, Mitchell, Monning, Nielsen, Pan,
Roth, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hall
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 62-10, 5/11/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Food: sale
SOURCE: California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators
DIGEST: This bill revises provisions of law governing community
food producers and gleaners by allowing community food producers
to sell whole uncut fruits or vegetables, or unrefrigerated
shell eggs, directly to a permitted food facility, not just a
restaurant, and by limiting the ability of a local environmental
health officer to require community food producers or gleaners
to register with the local enforcement under specified
conditions.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/4/15 permit gleaners to donate
produce to a food bank or food kitchen without having to be
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registered, require that records are retained for 30 days,
incorporate chaptering out amendments, and make other minor and
clarifying changes.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the California Retail Food Code (CRFC), which
governs all aspects of retail food safety and sanitation in
California under the CRFC. Specifies that primary
responsibility for enforcement of the CRFC is with local
enforcement agencies.
2)Requires the California Department of Food and Agriculture
(CDFA), in consultation with the California Department of
Public Health (CDPH) and local health officers or designees,
to publish and post on CDFA's Internet Web site small farm
food safety guidelines on the safe production, processing, and
handling of both non-potentially hazardous and potentially
hazardous foods.
3)Defines "community food producer" as a producer of
agricultural products on land that is not zoned for
agricultural use but is otherwise in compliance with
applicable local land use and zoning restrictions, including,
but not limited to, restrictions governing personal gardens,
community gardens, school gardens, and culinary gardens.
4)Defines "gleaner" as a person who legally gathers remnants of
an agricultural crop or harvests part of, or all of, an
agricultural crop made available by the owner of the
agricultural crop.
5)Permits a community food producer or a gleaner, unless
prohibited by a local jurisdiction that has adopted an
ordinance regulating community food production, to sell or
provide whole uncut fruits or vegetables, or unrefrigerated
shell eggs (up to 15 dozen per month), directly to the public,
to a restaurant, or to a cottage food operation if the
community food producer meets all of the following
requirements, in addition to any requirements imposed by a
locally adopted ordinance:
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a) Requires agricultural products to be grown or produced
in compliance with all applicable federal, state, or local
laws, regulations, and food safety guidelines issued by a
regulatory agency;
b) Requires agricultural products to be labeled with the
name and address of the community food producer;
c) Requires conspicuous signage to be provided in lieu of a
product label if the agricultural product is being sold by
the community food producer on the site of the production.
Requires this signage to include the name and address of
the community food producer; and,
d) Requires best management practices (BMPs), as described
by CDFA regarding small farm food safety guidelines on safe
production, processing, and handling of both
non-potentially hazardous and potentially hazardous foods.
6)Permits a local city or county health enforcement office to
require a community food producer to register with the city or
county, and to provide specified information, including the
name, address, and telephone number of the community food
producer.
This bill:
1)Clarifies and expands the ability of a community food producer
to sell or provide whole uncut fruits or vegetables, or
unrefrigerated shell eggs, by allowing them to sell to any
food facility, and not just a restaurant, in addition to
direct sales to the public and to a cottage food operation.
2)Eliminates the ability of a local jurisdiction to adopt an
ordinance prohibiting a community food producer or gleaner
from selling or providing whole uncut fruits or vegetables, or
unrefrigerated shell eggs, directly to the public or to food
facilities.
3)Restricts the ability of a local health enforcement agency,
unless otherwise authorized by a locally adopted ordinance, to
require a community food producer to be registered with the
local enforcement agency or to meet requirements in addition
to those required in existing law, if the community food
producer or gleaner meets any of the following conditions:
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a) Agricultural products are sold on the outlet or
location, including, but not limited to, premises,
controlled by the community food producer;
b) Agricultural products are donated to a food bank or food
kitchen that provides food at no cost to consumers; or
c) Produce is sold in a food facility permitted by a
federal, state, or local health agency.
4)Permits a gleaner to donate whole uncut fruits or vegetables,
or unrefrigerated shell eggs, produced by a community food
producer, to a food bank or food kitchen without being
registered by the local enforcement agency if the gleaner
meets both of the following requirements:
a) Best management practices, as specified, regarding small
farm food safety guidelines on handling of both
nonpotentially hazardous and potentially hazardous foods;
and,
b) Retention of records regarding the provision of the food
for 30 days.
5)Requires a community food producer or gleaner who sells or
provides whole uncut fruits or vegetables, or unrefrigerated
shell eggs, directly to the public to retain records related
to the sale or provision of the food for 30 days, including
the type of food sold and the date of sale.
6)Requires a food bank or food kitchen that receives whole uncut
fruits or vegetables, or unrefrigerated shell eggs, donated by
a community food producer or gleaner, to retain records
related to the donation of the food for 30 days, which is
required to include the type of food received, the date of
receipt, and the name and contact information of the community
food producer or gleaner that donated the food.
7)Revises an exemption from the definition of a "food facility,"
for purposes of the body of law governing retail food
facilities, which currently exempts "premises operated by a
producer selling only produce grown by the producer or shell
eggs," to instead exempt "an outlet or location, including,
but not limited to, premises" operated by a producer, provided
the sales are conducted at an outlet or location controlled by
the producer.
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8)Limit the requirement that agricultural products be labeled
with the name and address of the community food producer, to
instead only require agricultural products that are packaged
to have the package labeled.
9)Incorporates chaptering-out amendments to ensure that the
provisions of this bill, and the provision of both AB 143
(Wood) and AB 226 (Atkins), in the case that all three bills
are signed into law, do not chapter each other out.
Comments
1)Author's statement. According to the author, this bill is
needed because even though the Governor signed AB 1990
(Gordon, Chapter 580, Statutes of 2014) to allow community
food producers or gleaners to engage in direct sales of
produce to the public, there were concerns that AB 1990 would
inadvertently limit the existing paths for producers and
gleaners to sell locally. Therefore, this bill clarifies and
expands on AB 1990 by providing explicit clarification as to
what entities community food producers are allowed to sell or
provide whole uncut fruit, vegetables or unrefrigerated shell
eggs.
2)Direct Marketing Ad Hoc Committee report. CDFA convened a
Direct Marketing Ad Hoc Committee to review and analyze the
various business functions of the Direct Marketing Program
within CDFA from October 2011 through September 2012. The
Direct Marketing Program provides opportunities for California
farmers to market their products directly to consumers with
exemptions from minimum size, labeling, standard pack, and
container requirements. The Direct Marketing Program is
intended to provide a viable channel for California farmers to
market their agricultural products directly to the consumer,
thereby providing a significant source of revenue for
participating farmers. The most common form of direct
marketing is through certified farmers' markets, but also
includes farm stands, field retail stands and farm stands, and
subscription-based community-supported agriculture (CSA)
programs.
According to the report:
"Produce from farms in California is considered to be from
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"approved sources" pursuant to the California Health and
Safety Code. However, there may generally be no specific
food safety oversight by any regulatory agency except where
the product or commodity is covered under a marketing order
such as the Leafy Green Marketing Agreement. Concern over
food safety has recently been elevated with the rapid
increase in small scale farming operations such as
community and backyard gardens. Because California law does
not define a "small farm" there is no clear delineation of
where food safety oversight begins and ends. Local
environmental health officers and county agricultural
commissioners are expected to provide guidance and
oversight of these small scale operations in some cases.
Temperature control is also a food safety concern when
potentially hazardous foods require temperature control for
safety."
The Ad Hoc Committee included a Gardens Subcommittee which
looked at culinary, school, community, victory, and other
small-scale plots used for growing fresh fruits and
vegetables. According to the report, due to issues concerning
land use, zoning, and food safety requirements, several local
agencies have started to formalize an approval process to
allow these gardens to grow, donate, and sell the produce
grown. The subcommittee determined that "the sale of produce
from these gardens should be regulated in a manner consistent
with CSAs and retail field stands or farm stands under the
CRFC." The subcommittee recommended that when the products of
these gardens enter the stream of commerce, registration and
self-certification should be mandated for BMP and good
agricultural practices (GAP). The subcommittee encouraged
CDFA, CDPH, and local and environmental health agencies to
collaborate in the development of web-based information on
BMPs/GAPs for the production, distribution, and consumption of
fruits and vegetables grown in these gardens. Finally, the
subcommittee stated that if the home garden sells the produce
off-site at a farmer's market or to local restaurants, the
consumer cannot see firsthand under what conditions the
produce is grown, and the garden operator should be subject to
registration and certification of good growing practices.
Prior Legislation
AB 1990 (Gordon, Chapter 580, Statutes of 2014), permitted a
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"community food producer," defined as a producer of agricultural
products on land that is not zoned for agricultural use, and
"gleaners," as defined, to sell whole uncut fruits or
vegetables, or unrefrigerated shell eggs, directly to the
public, including restaurants, if the community food producer or
gleaner follows certain requirements. The Governor issued the
following statement when signing this bill into law: "I am
signing Assembly Bill 1990 which allows gleaners and community
food producers to engage in direct sales of produce to the
public. There is some concern that AB 1990 would inadvertently
limit the existing paths for producers and gleaners to sell
locally. This is not my intent. The language in this bill is
clearly expansive, not restrictive.
AB 2539 (Ting, Chapter 907, Statutes of 2014) made various
changes to the rules governing certified farmers' markets,
including requiring all harvested, cut, wrapped, or otherwise
processed meat, poultry, and fish products offered for sale in a
farmers' market to be from approved sources and to be maintained
at 41 degrees Fahrenheit.
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 224 (Gordon, Chapter 404, Statutes of 2013) defined CSA
within the direct marketing program regulated by the CDFA,
established regulatory parameters, and required CSA registration
fees to fund administration and related programmatic costs, as
specified.
AB 1616 (Gatto, Chapter 415, Statutes of 2012) provided a
regulatory framework for the production in home kitchens of food
for sale, referred to as cottage food operations.
AB 2168 (Jones, Chapter 447, Statutes of 2008) expanded the
definition of direct marketing to include farm stands, field
retail stands, and other forms of direct marketing, revised
related definitions, and authorized CDFA to adopt regulations to
regulate direct marketing, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
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Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified9/4/15)
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
(source)
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Health Trust
Roots of Change
Sustainable Economies Law Center
OPPOSITION: (Verified9/4/15)
Association of California Egg Farmers
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: This bill is sponsored by the
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
(CAEHA), which states that the local agricultural movement is
experiencing burgeoning popularity, and California has become a
trailblazer in the progressive food and farm movement.
Additionally, there has been a dramatic growth in a wide range
of community and urban gardens, as one form of locally produced
food. CAEHA states that lack of regulatory certainty has
thwarted the legitimate expansion of some of these operations,
and the absence of clear food production and safety guidance for
these micro-farms may be endangering public health. CAEHA states
that AB 1990 from last year reduced demands on local governments
to adopt a patchwork quilt of individual local ordinances, and
provided a statewide set of best management practices consistent
with recently enacted cottage food law and community supported
agriculture laws. CAEHA states that to remedy the concern
expressed in Governor Brown's signing statement of AB 1990 that
it might inadvertently limit the existing paths for producers
and gleaners to sell locally, this bill was introduced to
explicitly allow produce to be sold at all retail food
facilities by striking the word "restaurant" and replacing it
with "food facility."
Roots of Changes states in support that enabling more avenues
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for direct sales by community members is sound public policy
given that almost a quarter of Californians are still below the
federal poverty level, and research consistently shows that
low-income people are more likely to be overweight and obese.
The California Alliance with Family Farmers states that this
bill extends the right to sell whole produce and shell eggs to
any food facility, not just restaurants, which will allow urban
gardens to sell produce and shell eggs to stores.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: This bill is opposed by the
Association of California Egg Farmers (ACEF) unless amended to
remove all references to "unrefrigerated shell eggs." ACEF
states that when a food safety issue arises, all egg farmers
suffer. In 2010 when there was a recall of eggs, sales slumped
significantly for all eggs in California. ACEF states that when
egg farmers want to sell their products to restaurants and
stores, meeting the basic food safety standards is paramount.
ACEF states that this bill provides an exemption based on where
eggs are farmed, not how or by meeting specific standards, and
that it must oppose this bill unless eggs are removed from the
bill.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 62-10, 5/11/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian,
Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson, Perea, Rendon, Rodriguez,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Wilk,
Williams, Wood
NOES: Travis Allen, Brough, Chávez, Gray, Grove, Harper,
Mathis, Melendez, Olsen, Salas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bigelow, Beth Gaines, Jones, Quirk,
Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, Waldron, Atkins
Prepared by:Vince Marchand / HEALTH /
9/8/15 17:24:39
**** END ****
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