BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 190|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 190
Author: Wright (D), et al
Amended: 5/21/09
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 11-0, 4/29/09
AYES: Alquist, Strickland, Aanestad, Cedillo, Cox,
DeSaulnier, Leno, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Pavley, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-1, 5/26/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Denham, DeSaulnier, Leno, Wolk,
Yee
NOES: Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock, Oropeza, Runner, Wyland
SUBJECT : Misbranded food: pomegranate juice
SOURCE : Partnership for Unadulterated, Real and Ethical
Pomegranate
Juice
DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Public
Health, by July 1, 2011, in consultation with interested
parties, to adopt regulations establishing definitions and
standards of identity for 100 percent pomegranate juice
consistent with ensuring the public health.
ANALYSIS : 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
CONTINUED
SB 190
Page
2
claim, a structure/function claim and a nutrient claim.
Existing state law:
1. Contains, under the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Law, provisions regarding the contents, packaging,
labeling, and advertising of food, drugs, and cosmetics.
2. Provides that, except as specified, any food fabricated
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.
3. Makes it a misdemeanor, punishable as prescribed, to
misbrand any food.
4. 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.
5. 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 requires DPH, by July 1, 2011, in consultation
with interested parties, to adopt regulations establishing
definitions and standards of identity for 100 percent
pomegranate juice consistent with ensuring the public
health.
Background
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
SB 190
Page
3
part of the FDA Modernization Act of 1997, which permits
claims based on an authoritative statement of a scientific
body of the United States 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11
2011-12 Fund
DPH regulations $90 $90
$0Special*
* Food Safety Fund
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/27/09)
Partnership for Unadulterated, Real and Ethical Pomegranate
Juice (co-source)
Roll International/Pom Wonderful (co-source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/27/09)
California Nevada Soft Drink Association
SB 190
Page
4
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : AFSCME states support for this
bill 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
this bill 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.
CTW:mw 5/27/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****