BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 1067 Page 1 Date of Hearing: June 14, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH Jim Wood, Chair SB 1067 (Huff) - As Amended May 25, 2016 SENATE VOTE: 36-0 SUBJECT: Food facilities. SUMMARY: Requires the food safety certification examination, which must be completed by at least one person at every retail food facility, to include knowledge of major food allergens. Specifies the knowledge and educational responsibilities required of the person in charge of a food facility regarding major food allergens. Revises 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. Specifically, this bill: 1)Defines "major food allergen" as all of the following: a) Milk; b) Eggs; c) Fish, including, but not limited to, bass, flounder, and cod; d) Crustacean shellfish, including, but not limited to crab, lobster, and shrimp; SB 1067 Page 2 e) Tree nuts, including, but not limited to, almonds, pecans, and walnuts; f) Wheat; g) Peanuts; h) Soybeans; and, i) A food ingredient that contains protein derived from any of the foods listed above. 1)Excludes from the definition of "major food allergen" a highly refined oil derived from one of the foods specified as a major food allergen, and also excludes an ingredient that is exempt under the petition or notification process specified in the federal Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004. 2)Requires the designated "person in charge" at retail food facilities to comply with both of the following: a) Have adequate knowledge of major food allergens, and the symptoms that a major food allergen could cause in a sensitive individual who has an allergic reaction; and, b) Educate the employees at the food facility regarding major food allergens and the symptoms they could cause. Permits this person in charge to accomplish this education SB 1067 Page 3 requirement by, among other methods, using a poster or job aid to which the employee can refer. 3)Requires the food safety certification examination, which each food facility is required to have at least one employee pass, to include describing foods identified as major food allergens and the symptoms that a major food allergen could cause in a sensitive individual who has an allergic reaction. 4)Permits a raw or undercooked whole-muscle, intact beef steak to be served or offered for sale in a ready-to-eat form if all of the following conditions are satisfied. a) The food facility serves a population that is not a highly susceptible population; b) The steak is labeled to indicate that it meets the definition of "whole muscle, intact beef," as specified; and, c) The steak is cooked on both the top and bottom to a surface temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit or above and a cooked color change is achieved on all external surfaces. 5)Requires whole-muscle, intact beef steaks that are intended for consumption in an undercooked form to satisfy the following conditions: a) Either the food has been obtained from a food processing plant that, upon request by the purchaser, packages the steaks and labels them to indicate that the steak meets the definition of whole-muscle, intact beef, or is deemed acceptable by the enforcement agency based on other SB 1067 Page 4 evidence; and, b) If the food is individually cut in a food facility, the food must be cut from whole-muscle intact beef that is so labeled, the food is prepared so it remains intact, and if packaged for undercooking in a food facility, relabeled as a whole-muscle, intact beef. 6)Permits a raw animal food, such as raw egg, raw fish, raw marinated fish, raw mulluscan shellfish, or steak tartare, or a partially cooked food such as lightly cooked fish, soft cooked eggs, or rare meat other than whole-muscle, intact beef steaks, to be served upon consumer request or selection in a ready-to-eat form if either of the following conditions are satisfied: a) The food facility serves a population that is not a highly susceptible population, as defined; the food, if served from a children's menu, does not contain comminuted meat (i.e., ground meat); and, the consumer is informed that to ensure its safety, the food should be fully cooked; or, b) The Department of Public Health grants a variance from the required cooking temperatures based on a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan that documents scientific data showing that a lesser time and temperature regimen results in safe food, and the plan has been submitted and approved, as specified. 7)Repeals a provision of existing law, in order to replace with alternative disclosure requirements, which permit single pieces of meat and fish, or a salad dressing or sauce containing a raw egg, to be served raw or not cooked to the otherwise specified temperature, if the consumer specifically SB 1067 Page 5 ordered the food to be individually prepared less than thoroughly cooked, and the food facility notifies the consumer, orally or in writing, at the time of ordering, that the food is raw or less than thoroughly cooked. Replaces the repealed provision with new provisions noted in 9), 10), and 11) below. 8)Requires a food facility, if an animal food is served or sold raw, undercooked, or without otherwise being processed to eliminate pathogens, to inform consumers of the significantly increased risk of consuming those foods by way of a disclosure, as specified, and a reminder, as specified, using brochures, deli case or menu advisories, label statements, table tents, placards, or other effective written means. 9)Specifies, for purposes of the provision in 9) above, "disclosure" means a written statement that clearly includes a description of the animal-derived foods, such as "oysters on the half shell (raw oysters)" or identification of the animal-derived foods marked by an asterisk denoting a footnote that states that the items are served raw or undercooked. 10)Specifies, for purposes of the provision in 9) above, "reminder" means a written statement that identifies the animal derived foods by an asterisk that denotes a footnote that includes either of the following disclosure statements: a) Written information regarding the safety of these food items is available upon request; or, b) Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness, especially if you have certain medical conditions. SB 1067 Page 6 11)Specifies, for purposes of requirements pertaining to food facilities that package food, that a food facility is not required to have an HACCP plan if the facility uses a reduced-oxygen packaging method to package hazardous food that always complies with the following standards: a) The food is labeled with the production time and date; b) The food is held at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or lower during refrigerated storage; and, c) The food is removed from its package in the food facility within 48 hours after packaging. 12)Clarifies that "juicing" is considered preparing a beverage, and is therefore only subject to the more minor "limited food preparation" requirements. 13)Contains other minor, technical updates and revisions to the California Retail Food Code (CRFC). EXISTING LAW: 1)Establishes the CRFC to regulate retail food facilities, which is enforced by local environmental health officers. 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 SB 1067 Page 7 there is a charge, at the retail level. 3)Requires a food facility to designate a "person in charge" and requires the person in charge to be present at the food facility during all hours of operation. Among other responsibilities, the person in charge is required to have knowledge of safe food handling practices as they relate to the specific food preparation activities that occur at the food facility. 4)Requires food facilities that prepare non-prepackaged potentially hazardous food to have an owner or employee who has successfully passed an approved and accredited food safety certification examination, as specified, but specifies that this certified person does not need to be present at the food facility during all hours of operation. 5)Requires the food safety certification examination to include specified elements of knowledge, including knowledge on foodborne illness, the relationship between hygiene and food safety, methods of preventing food contamination, and procedures for cleaning and sanitizing equipment, among other specified elements. 6)Defines "potentially hazardous food" as a food that requires time or temperature control to limit pathogenic micro-organism growth or toxin formation. Requires potentially hazardous food to be maintained at or above 135 degrees Fahrenheit, or at or below 41 degrees Fahrenheit. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations SB 1067 Page 8 Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs. COMMENTS: 1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL. According to the author, this bill is necessary because it updates the CRFC to conform to the model Food Code adopted by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013. The author states that this bill cleans up sections of the CRFC to conform to the federal model. Although not part of the model Food Code, the author states that food allergies are an increasing food safety and public health issue, affecting approximately 4% of the U.S. population. Restaurant and retail food service managers and employees need to be aware of the serious nature of food allergies, including allergic reactions, anaphylaxis, and death; to know the eight major food allergens; to understand food allergen ingredient identities and labeling; and, to avoid cross-contact during food preparation and food service. This bill clarifies that as part of their duties, food managers will also be required to provide food allergy awareness training to employees. The author notes that currently ServSafe, a food handler certifying program sponsored by the National Restaurant Association, includes food allergy awareness as part of their training curriculum. 2)BACKGROUND. The FDA publishes the Food Code, a model that assists food control jurisdictions at all levels of government by providing them with a scientifically sound technical and legal basis for regulating the retail and food service segment of the industry (restaurants and grocery stores and institutions such as nursing homes). Local, state, tribal, and federal regulators use the FDA Food Code as a model to develop or update their own food safety rules and to be consistent with national food regulatory policy. The 2013 Food Code is the most recent full edition published by FDA. SB 1067 Page 9 3)SUPPORT. The California Retail Food Safety Coalition, a collaboration of more than 60 federal, state, local regulators, retail food industry representatives, and the sponsor of this bill, argue that it provides equivalency between CRFC and the FDA Food Code. The Allergy and Asthma Network and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America note that 15 million Americans are affected by food allergies and argue that it is important for restaurant and retail food managers and employees to be aware of the serious nature of food allergies, and to understand the best practices for managing the potential for an adverse reaction to occur in a retail food setting. 4)PREVIOUS LEGISLATION. a) AB 2130 (Pan and Gatto), Chapter 75, Statutes of 2014, repeals provisions of law enacted in 2013 that prohibits retail food employees from coming in contact with exposed ready-to-eat foods with their bare hands, and replaced these provisions with prior law that requires food employees to minimize bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods. b) AB 1252 (Committee on Health), Chapter 556, Statutes of 2013, made numerous technical, clarifying, and non-controversial changes to the CRFC, and prohibited bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food without prior authorization from the local environmental health department. c) 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 SB 1067 Page 10 states, as well as to enhance food safety laws based on the best available science. 5)RELATED LEGISLATION. a) SB 969 (Nguyen) permits a food facility to sell Vietnamese rice cakes 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. SB 969 passed the Senate and is currently pending in the Assembly Health Committee. b) SB 1258 (Huff) would have required each local educational agency to develop and have in place a comprehensive policy to protect students with food allergies. SB 1258 was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File. 6)TECHNICAL AMENDMENT. The author intends to propose the following technical amendment: On page 13, line 24, delete "an undercounter warewashing machine" and replace with "a mechanical warewashing machine." REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION: Support California Retail Food Safety Coalition (sponsor) Allergy and Asthma Network SB 1067 Page 11 Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America California Association of Environmental Health Administrators California Retail Food Safety Coalition Food Allergy Research and Education Opposition None on file. Analysis Prepared by:John Gilman / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097