BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2297
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 20, 2004
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Rebecca Cohn, Chair
AB 2297 (Vargas) - As Amended: April 1, 2004
SUBJECT : Imported candy: lead contamination.
SUMMARY : This bill would expand the Childhood Lead Poisoning
Prevention Act of 1991 (Act) to require the Department of Health
Services (DHS) to regulate the lead content of imported candy.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the testing of imported candy to determine its lead
content.
2)Requires that DHS to have jurisdiction over the regulation of
ensuring imported candy is lead free and gives priority for
testing imported candy received by community-based
organizations.
3)Establishes a lead content standard of zero, or lowest
detection limit for imported candy.
4)Authorizes DHS to make available funds deposited into the
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Fund for purposes
described in this bill.
5)Authorizes DHS to enter into contracts with county health
officers and county environmental officers to collect samples
of candy for testing.
6)Authorizes DHS to provide grants to between 5 and 10
environmental justice organizations to identify retail
establishments that sell imported candy and report those
findings to the county health officer for the collection,
testing, and enforcement actions if banned candy is found.
7)Requires DHS to establish an interagency collaborative and
defines the composition of the collaborative.
8)Provides "candy" for the purposes of this bill includes only
candy imported from a foreign country and its packaging or
wrapper.
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9)Authorizes DHS to issue health related advisories, order the
removal of, and to embargo candy found to contain lead.
EXISTING LAW
1)Prohibits under the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, the
sale of adulterated food, as defined.
2)Requires DHS to establish a childhood lead poisoning
prevention program to identify and conduct medical follow-up
of high-risk children and to establish procedures for
environmental abatement.
3)Requires DHS to assess a fee for these purposes against
persons who contributed to sources of lead contamination.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)PURPOSE OF THE BILL . According to the author, the state's
standard for allowable lead levels is based on a
recommendation from the Federal Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). The FDA recommended guidelines state children under 6
years of age should consume no more than 6.0 micrograms of
lead each day from all food sources. Lead poisoning from food
is not currently under the jurisdiction of the Childhood Lead
Poisoning Prevention Program.
The author states that in June of 2002, DHS conducted a sample
testing of candy imported from Mexico and sold in California.
These tests revealed some of the candy contained higher levels
of lead than the FDA recommended guidelines had deemed safe
for a child to consume in one day. In August of 2002, a
report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention identified a popular Mexican candy bar called Chaca
Chaca as a possible source of high lead levels in 150 children
in cases reported to California health officials between May
2001 and January 2002. In March of 2004, DHS issued an alert
warning the public of lead levels in Chaca Chaca. This candy
was found to contain three to four times the lead level
recommended in the FDA guidelines.
2)LEAD POISONING . Lead poisoning is defined as an acute or
chronic intoxication by lead. Repeated exposure or
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consumption of lead can cause symptoms from stomach pain and
constipation to convulsions and coma. Lead poisoning can lead
to the damage of the nervous system and kidney failure. It
has also been proven to cause learning disabilities and
behavioral disorders.
3)PREVIOUS LEGISLATION . AB 256 (Vargas) was introduced in 2003,
but the provisions dealing with lead levels in imported candy
were amended out of the bill.
4)DHS POSITION . Currently, DHS is neutral on this bill. DHS has
the authority under the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law
to test candy under their Food and Drug branch. DHS does test
food, including candy, when complaints are received from
consumers and other state departments.
5)SUPPORT . Supporters assert that this bill takes important
steps to protect the public from candy with unsafe levels of
lead and that ingesting lead is especially harmful to pregnant
women and children.
6)OPPOSITION . The opposition contends that the FDA is already
addressing the issue of lead in imported candy and that the
FDA has already sent out an advisory informing manufacturers,
importers, and distributors of imported candy that the FDA
intends to take actions to reduce further the potential
exposure of children to lead from candy products.
The Paint Council of California states they have no position on
the proposal for DHS to regulate the lead content in candy.
They state that the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention
Program is funded by fees imposed mainly on paint
manufacturers and the petroleum industry, who should not be
required to pay for the program described in this bill.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Environmental Health Coalition (sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
Consumer Attorneys of California
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Opposition
Grocery Manufacturers of America
National Confectioners Association
Paint Council of California
Analysis Prepared by : Patty Rodgers / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097