BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HEALTH
COMMITTEE ANALYSIS
Senator Elaine K. Alquist, Chair
BILL NO: SB 190
S
AUTHOR: Wright
B
AMENDED: April 20, 2009
HEARING DATE: April 29, 2009
1
CONSULTANT:
9
Tadeo/
0
SUBJECT
Misbranded food: pomegranate juice
SUMMARY
Defines 100 percent pomegranate juice or pomegranate juice
that reconstitutes to single-strength 100 percent
pomegranate juice as pomegranate juice that has a specified
chemical profile. Restricts labeling a product as 100
percent pomegranate juice to only juice that meets the
chemical profile specified. Makes each labeling violation
a crime and sets penalties.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing federal law:
Under existing federal law, the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) regulates food labeling. The FDA
allows three types of claims on food labels, a health
claim, a structure/function claim and a nutrient claim.
Existing state law:
Contains, under the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law
provisions regarding the contents, packaging, labeling, and
advertising of food, drugs, and cosmetics.
Provides that, except as specified, any food fabricated
Continued---
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 190 (Wright)Page 2
from two or more ingredients is misbranded unless it bears
a label clearly stating the common or usual name of each
ingredient, and if the food purports to be a beverage
containing vegetable or fruit juice, a statement with
appropriate prominence on the information panel of the
total percentage of fruit or vegetable juice contained in
the food.
Makes it a misdemeanor, punishable as prescribed, to
misbrand any food.
Provides that all food labeling regulations adopted
pursuant to the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act shall
be the food labeling regulations of this state.
Permits the Department of Public Health (DPH), by
regulation, to establish definitions and standards of
identity, quality and fill of container for any food, when
in its judgment such action will promote honesty and fair
dealing in the interest of consumers.
This bill:
Defines pomegranate juice according to a chemical profile
set in the International Multidimensional Authenticity
Specification (IMAS), as specified.
Requires only pomegranate juice that meets the chemical
profile in the definition, as specified to be labeled as
100 percent pomegranate juice.
Makes violation of these provisions a misdemeanor, and
specifies that each labeling violation constitutes a
separate offense, punishable by a fine of not less than
five hundred dollars and not more than one thousand
dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not
exceeding one year.
FISCAL IMPACT
Unknown.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
According to the author, SB 190 is needed to address issues
of adulteration with pomegranate juice originating from
outside the United States. The author states that
pomegranate juice from foreign suppliers in Iran and other
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 190 (Wright)Page 3
countries in the Middle East is purchased for well below
the established market price for pure pomegranate juice
concentrate, which is then used in juice products that are
falsely labeled with claims of 100 percent pomegranate
juice. The author further states that California is the
only commercial growing region of pomegranates in the
United States. Over 250 farmers in California grow
commercial pomegranates on approximately 35,000 acres,
generating thousands of jobs and a total farm value of
nearly $75 million.
The author states that research shows that 100 percent
pomegranate juice from these California pomegranates helps
have multiple health benefits, and argues that consumers
rely on these health benefits when purchasing authentic 100
percent pomegranate juice and they depend on accurate and
truthful identification and labeling of pomegranate juice.
The author further argues that these benefits combined with
the demand for, and high production cost of, authentic 100
percent pomegranate juice has led to the selling of diluted
and adulterated pomegranate juice falsely represented as
100 percent pomegranate juice. The author argues that
adulterated pomegranate juice damages those who manufacture
authentic pomegranate juice, the economic health of the
California pomegranate farmers, and the physiological
health of consumers who purchase this product for its
health value.
International Multidimensional Authenticity Specification
(IMAS)
The definition specified in SB 190 is the specification set
in IMAS. According to the Journal of Agricultural and Food
and Chemistry (JAFC), the pomegranate fruit has become an
international high-value crop for the production of
commercial pomegranate juice. The perceived consumer value
of pomegranate juice is due in large part to its potential
health benefits based on a significant body of medical
research conducted with authentic pomegranate juice. To
establish criteria for authenticating pomegranate juice, a
new IMAS algorithm was developed through consideration of
existing databases and comprehensive chemical
characterization of 45 commercial juice samples from 23
different manufacturers in the United States. In addition
to analysis of commercial juice samples obtained in the
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 190 (Wright)Page 4
United States, data from other analyses of pomegranate
juice and fruits including samples from Iran, Turkey,
Azerbaijan, Syria, India, and China were considered in
developing this protocol. The profile generated from these
analyses combined with information from existing databases
and published literature has been integrated into a
validated IMAS for pomegranate juices which can be utilized
to detect adulteration. In this survey of commercial
pomegranate juices, only 6 of 23 strictly met all of the
IMAS criteria.
Health benefits in pomegranate juice
Scientists have determined that 100 percent pomegranate
juice has high levels of unique polyphenols that are
largely responsible for its health benefits. Polyphenols
are antioxidants that are also found in red wine, green tea
and blueberry juice.
Health claims and labeling
The FDA recognizes 17 specific health claims, each linking
a food or dietary ingredient to a disease or health-related
condition. Twelve were authorized through a process in
which the agency evaluates the evidence for a food's
reputed health effects. The other five came into play as
part of the FDA Modernization Act of 1997, which permits
claims based on an authoritative statement of a scientific
body of the U.S. government or the National Academy of
Sciences.
FDA regulations define 100 percent juice as juice expressed
directly from a fruit or a vegetable. A Brix level is an
approximate measure of the amount of sugars in a given
liquid, 100 percent pomegranate juice must have a minimum
Brix level of 16, according to FDA regulations. The FDA
also sets standards for labeling for any beverage that
purports to contain fruit or vegetable juice, including,
but not limited to advertising, labeling, and direct or
indirect representation to any fruit or vegetable. These
standards include mandatory labeling of which juice it
contains and the percentage of juice it contains.
POM Wonderful, LLC v. Purely Juice, Inc.
According to court documents provided by the sponsor, this
case was conducted in April, 2008 in the United States
District Court Central District of California. POM
Wonderful, one of the sponsors of this bill, was the
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 190 (Wright)Page 5
plaintiff, Purely Juice, Inc., the defendant. Court
documents state that the plaintiff grows and distributes
only the wonderful variety of pomegranates, and introduced
the first pomegranate based products marketed and sold on a
national basis in the United States. Court documents state
that the testing of Purely Juice was conducted by seven
independent laboratories. The court found the defendant to
be selling a product that contained false or misleading
representation of fact concerning the nature,
characteristics and qualities of its product.
Arguments in support
AFSCME states support for SB 190 because the growing of
pomegranates for commercial use is exclusive to California
and the misrepresentation of the percentage level of actual
pomegranate juice in a product not only hurts this
California industry but serves as false advertising.
AFSCME further states that 100 percent pomegranate juice
holds several health benefits including fighting free
radicals, heart disease and various types of cancer, and
that diluted pomegranate juice cannot be expected to
provide any of these benefits.
Arguments in opposition
The California Nevada Soft Drink Association (CNSDA) writes
that the provisions in SB 190 create stricter provisions
than those in the FDA standards without justification.
CNSDA states that there is no other precedent in California
law that requires this evaluation of chemical composition
to determine whether a product is permitted to identify its
contents. CNSDA questions whether the scientific criteria
is intended to confer a monopoly on California produced and
manufactured 100 percent pomegranate juice.
COMMENTS
1. Bill does not appear to be needed. The FDA and the
Sherman Act provide procedures for labeling a product and
the FDA also has procedures in place for a product that
wishes to make a health claim.
The judgment in the 2008 POM Wonderful, LLC v. Purely
Juice, Inc case indicates the current system is working.
Purely Juice was found to have made a misleading claim by
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 190 (Wright)Page 6
using the 100 percent pomegranate juice statement on their
label, when the juice was not 100 percent pomegranate
juice.
The author may wish to amend the bill to require DPH to
consider the need for a standard and authorize them to
develop a standard if one is needed, notwithstanding DPH's
general authority to set standards.
2. Technical amendment.
Page 2, line 21 - page 3, lines 1-7:
(f) The proven benefits of authentic 100 percent California
pomegranate juice, combined with the high costs of
production, have led to the selling of diluted and
adulterated pomegranate juice on the market that is falsely
represented as 100 percent pomegranate juice. Misbranded
pomegranate juice not only misrepresents the health value
of the pomegranate juice to consumers, it also damages
those who manufacture authentic 100
percent pomegranate juice and the economic health of the
state's pomegranate growers.
POSITIONS
Support: Partnership for Unadulterated, Real and Ethical
Pomegranate Juice (sponsor)
Roll International/Pom Wonderful (sponsor)
American Federation of State, County, and
Municipal Employees
Oppose: California Nevada Soft Drink Association
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