BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D., Chair
BILL NO: SB 969
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|AUTHOR: |Nguyen |
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|VERSION: |March 15, 2016 |
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|HEARING DATE: |April 6, 2016 | | |
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|CONSULTANT: |Vince Marchand |
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SUBJECT : Vietnamese rice cakes
SUMMARY : Permits a food facility to sell Vietnamese rice cakes, as
defined, that have been at room temperature for up to 48 hours,
notwithstanding provisions of law that require potentially
hazardous foods to either be refrigerated or kept hot.
Existing law:
1)Establishes the California Retail Food Code (CRFC) to regulate
retail food facilities, which is enforced by local
environmental health officers.
2)Defines "potentially hazardous food" as a food that requires
time or temperature control to limit pathogenic micro-organism
growth or toxin formation.
3)Excludes from the definition of "potentially hazardous food"
any food that has been shown by appropriate microbial
challenge studies approved by the enforcement agency to not
support the rapid and progressive growth of infectious or
toxigenic micro-organisms that may cause food infections.
4)Requires potentially hazardous food to be maintained at or
above 135 degrees Fahrenheit, or at or below 41 degrees
Fahrenheit.
5)Defines "Korean rice cake" as a confection that contains rice
powder, salt, sugar, various edible seeds, oil, dried beans,
nuts, dried fruits, and dried pumpkin, but which does not
contain any animal fats or any other products derived from
animals.
6)Permits a food facility, notwithstanding the requirement that
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potentially hazardous foods either be kept above or below a
certain temperature, to sell Korean rice cakes that have been
at room temperature for no more than 24 hours.
7)Permits a food facility, notwithstanding the requirement that
potentially hazardous foods either be kept above or below a
certain temperature, to sell Asian rice-based noodles that
have been at room temperature for no more than four hours.
This bill:
1)Permits a food facility to sell Vietnamese rice cakes that
have been at no more than 70 degrees Fahrenheit for up to 48
hours, notwithstanding provisions of law that require
potentially hazardous foods to either be refrigerated or kept
above 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
2)Specifies that the above provision does not apply to
Vietnamese rice cakes that have been determined by the
Department of Public Health (DPH) to be non-potentially
hazardous foods based on formulation and supporting laboratory
documentation submitted to DPH by the manufacturer.
3)Requires Vietnamese rice cakes that have been at no more than
70 degrees Fahrenheit up to 48 hours to be destroyed in a
manner approved by the enforcement agency.
4)Requires manufacturers of Vietnamese rice cakes to place a
label on the Vietnamese rice cake that indicates the date and
time the cooking process was completed, and that includes a
statement that the rice cake must be consumed within 48 hours
of the date and time printed on the label.
5)Defines a "Vietnamese rice cake," also known as Bánh Tét or
Bánh Chung, as a confection that contains a combination of
rice, beans, and meat or fruit wrapped tightly in banana
leaves for cooking. Defines Bánh Tét as a rice cake in a
cylindrical shape, and Bánh Chung as a rice cake in a square
shape. The definition specifies the following cooking
preparation:
a) Requires the Vietnamese rice cake to be
prepared using a traditional Vietnamese method that
includes cooking by boiling in water for not less than
10 hours;
b) Requires the rice cakes to be handled,
prepared, and stored under sanitary conditions both
SB 969 (Nguyen) Page 3 of ?
when they are kept at no more than 70 degrees
Fahrenheit upon completion of cooking and after the
rice cakes have been cooled to below 70 degrees
Fahrenheit; and,
c) Requires any Vietnamese rice cakes that are
unwrapped from the banana leaves after cooking to be
refrigerated.
FISCAL
EFFECT : This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee.
COMMENTS :
1)Author's statement. According to the author, traditional
Vietnamese rice cakes are manufactured primarily around the
holiday seasons such as Tet. There are generally two forms of
rice cakes that can take more than eight hours to cook; one
with meat-filling and one with a fruit-filling. Traditionally,
families will keep these rice cakes for up to one week before
safely consuming, although many will refrigerate them by the
end of the day. Due to current requirements established by the
Department of Public Health and due to the presence of
potentially perishable ingredients, Vietnamese rice cakes must
be sold refrigerated or frozen. However, it is against
tradition to purchase rice cakes that are cold. This stigma
prevents traditional Vietnamese rice cakes from being sold
year-round in stores without facing citations from health
regulators. Additionally, these cakes are often sold for
charitable events to raise money during the holidays. SB 969
would allow for Vietnamese rice cakes that are cooked and
served according to traditional recipes to be sold at room
temperature with appropriate warning labels.
2)DPH report to the Legislature. Pursuant to AB 2214 (Tran,
Chapter 610, Statutes of 2006), the Department of Public
Health was required to conduct a study of the sale and
consumption of three traditional Asian foods: Banh Tet, Banh
Chung, and Moon Cakes. These products, often consumed at
cultural events and during traditional ceremonies, are
traditionally held and consumed at room temperature, and
enforcement by local jurisdictions to require refrigeration
resulted in complaints that the products are unpalatable when
refrigerated. AB 2214 required DPH to determine if the
products could be safely held at room temperature for longer
periods of time.
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DPH was unable to identify a producer of Banh Tet to provide
samples to be analyzed, but did complete laboratory studies of
Banh Chung. According to DPH, when Banh Chung is produced
according to the method specified in this bill, and is
packaged securely, and is not recontaminated during cooling,
packaging, and distributing, the product could be held safely
at room temperature for a maximum of 48 hours. However, DPH
concluded that the processing and handling conditions that
must occur so the product can reasonably be held at ambient
temperatures for up to 48 hours will likely prove too elusive
to practically implement. For example, DPH stated that it will
not be possible for regulatory staff to confirm or determine
if Banh Chung products have been subjected to ten hours of
boiling or whether a shorter time period was used given the
current equipment and methods used by the industry. Without
the ability to confirm critical parameters are met, DPH
recommended that Banh Chung not be excluded from being
considered a potentially hazardous food.
3)Related legislation. SB 1067 (Huff) requires the food safety
certification examination, which must be completed by at least
one person at every retail food facility, to include major
food allergens and the symptoms that these allergens could
cause in individuals who have allergic reactions.
Additionally, revises and recasts provisions of law governing
the serving of raw and undercooked meat, and makes various
other updates and minor changes to the laws governing retail
food facilities. SB 1067 is also pending in this committee.
4)Prior legislation. SB 888 (Yee, Chapter 508, Statutes of
2010), required manufacturers of Asian rice based noodles, as
defined, to place a label on the product indicating the date
and time of manufacture and include a statement that the
noodles must be consumed within four hours of manufacture.
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 2214 (Tran), Chapter 610, Statutes of 2006), required DPH
to conduct a study on the effects of retail food facility
health and sanitation standards on the sale and consumption of
traditional Asian food.
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AB 187 (Liu, Chapter 204, Statutes of 2001), permitted retail
food facilities to sell Korean rice cakes, as defined, that
have been at room temperature for less than 24 hours, and
required manufacturers of Korean rice cakes to provide a date
stamp indicating the date of manufacture and a warning label
that the rice cake must be consumed within one day of
manufacture.
5)Support. This bill is supported by the Cities of Santa Ana,
Fountain Valley, Garden Grove and Westminster, which all state
that this bill ensures that Vietnamese rice cakes may be sold
in their traditional manner without compromising food safety.
The City of San Jose states that the current requirements put
too much burden and restrictions on the rice cakes, and that
while these regulations are intended to keep people safe, the
cakes have proven to not be harmful thanks to the traditional
wrapping and cooking techniques. This bill is also supported
by the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC), which
states that Asian-owned businesses make up 17% of businesses
in California, and Vietnamese-owned businesses are the second
largest within the Asian American community. SEARAC states
that legislation such as this bill ensures California is
respectful of culturally-specific businesses within
California's diverse communities.
6)Oppose unless amended. The California Association of
Environmental Health Administrators (CAEHA) opposes this bill
unless amended to adopt the same standard of only 24 hours at
room temperature that has been established for Korean rice
cakes. CAEHA states that by establishing time and temperature
limits for one kind of food, this bill is circumventing the
fundamental food safety standards and tests used to determine
whether any food is potentially hazardous. CAEHA states that
while it cannot support expanding exemptions further, it
acknowledges that the precedent has been set with Korean rice
cakes, and urges that the bill be amended to adopt the same
standard of 24 hours at room temperature. According to CAEHA,
this amendment would provide comparable public health
protection and ease in compliance and enforcement.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION :
Support: Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs
Association
City of San Jose
City of Santa Ana
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City of Fountain Valley
City of Garden Grove
City of Westminster
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center
Oppose: California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators (unless amended)
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