BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 969
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Date of Hearing: June 14, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Jim Wood, Chair
SB
969 (Nguyen) - As Amended May 27, 2016
SENATE VOTE: 37-0
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 24
hours, notwithstanding provisions of law that require
potentially hazardous foods to either be refrigerated or kept
hot. Specifically, this bill:
1)Permits a food facility, if permitted by federal law, to sell
Vietnamese rice cakes that have been at no more than 70
degrees Fahrenheit for up to 24 hours, notwithstanding
provisions of California law that require potentially
hazardous foods to either be refrigerated or kept at or above
135 degrees Fahrenheit.
2)Requires Vietnamese rice cakes that have been at no more than
70 degrees Fahrenheit but have been stored for more than 24
hours to be destroyed in a manner approved by the enforcement
agency.
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3)Requires manufacturers of Vietnamese rice cakes to place a
label, issued by the Vietnamese Rice Cake Association Inc., 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 24 hours of the
date and time printed on the label.
4)Specifies that 3) above 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.
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 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,
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c) Requires any Vietnamese rice cakes that are unwrapped
from the banana leaves, after cooking, to be refrigerated.
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, and to be discarded within four hours from the
time when the food is removed from temperature control.
5)Defines "Korean rice cake" as a confection that contains rice
powder, salt, sugar, various edible seeds, oil, dried beans,
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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
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. Requires
manufacturers of Korean rice cakes to place a label issued by
the Korean Rice Cake Association that includes the date of
manufacture and a statement that the rice cake must be
consumed within one day of manufacture.
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.
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, traditional
Vietnamese rice cakes are manufactured primarily around the
holiday seasons such as Tet (New Year). There are generally
two forms of rice cakes that can take more than eight hours to
cook; one with a 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
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requirements established by DPH 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. This
bill allows for Vietnamese rice cakes that are cooked and
served according to traditional recipes to be sold at room
temperature with appropriate warning labels.
2)BACKGROUND. Pursuant to AB 2214 (Tran), Chapter 610, Statutes
of 2006, DPH was required to conduct a study of the sale and
consumption of three traditional Asian foods: Bánh Tét, Bánh
Chung and, Moon Cakes. These products, often consumed at
cultural events and holiday ceremonies, are traditionally held
and consumed at room temperature. Enforcement by local
jurisdictions that 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.
DPH did not find a producer of Bánh Tét that would provide
preparation and processing information and samples to be
analyzed. However, DPH did complete laboratory studies of
Bánh Chung. According to DPH, when Bánh Chung is produced
according to the method specified in this bill, 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 Bánh
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Chung products have been subjected to 10 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 whether critical parameters are met, DPH
recommended that Bánh Chung continue to be considered a
potentially hazardous food.
3)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. Councilmember Tom Nguyen of 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 community.
4)OPPOSE UNLESS AMENDED. The California Association of
Environmental Health Administrators (CAEHA) and the California
Retail Food Safety Coalition (CRFSC) oppose this bill unless
it is amended back to its prior version. CAEHA and CRFSC
object to the fact that the current version of this bill
requires date labels from one specific private organization,
the Vietnamese Rice Cake Association Inc. CAEHA and CRFSC
state that it is inappropriate for state law to prescribe the
purchase of a product from a sole-source vendor and state
further that the vendor is not recognized as a third-party
food safety certification institution.
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5)PREVIOUS LEGISLATION.
a) 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.
b) 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.
c) 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.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association
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City of Fountain Valley
City of Garden Grove
City of Santa Ana
City of Westminster
San Jose Councilmember Tom Nguyen
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:John Gilman / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097
SB 969
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