BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HEALTH
COMMITTEE ANALYSIS
Senator Elaine K. Alquist, Chair
BILL NO: SB 241
S
AUTHOR: Runner
B
AMENDED: April 14, 2009
HEARING DATE: April 22, 2009
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CONSULTANT:
4
Tadeo/
1
SUBJECT
Retail food facilities
SUMMARY
Establishes "single operating site mobile food facility" as
a new category of mobile food facilities regulated under
the California Retail Food Code (CalCode). Imposes various
requirements on these facilities, and revises standards
applicable to mobile food facilities and satellite food
facilities. Makes additional technical and nonsubstantive
amendments to the CalCode. Declares that these provisions
will take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing law:
Existing law, the California Retail Food Code (CalCode),
provides for the development of health and sanitation
standards for retail food facilities by the State
Department of Public Health (DPH) and vests local health
agencies with primary responsibility for enforcing this
code.
CalCode:
Establishes the authority of local environmental health
jurisdictions to adopt a food safety inspection program
Continued---
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 241 (Runner)Page 2
with state oversight;
Establishes uniform food safety and sanitation
requirements for local jurisdictions to follow;
Requires plans for new and remodeled food facilities to
be submitted and approved by the local environmental
health jurisdiction prior to operation;
Provides authority for the local jurisdiction to
inspect, immediately suspend a permit, conduct hearings,
take samples or other evidence, impound food or
equipment, and issue reports;
Establishes standards for temperature control of
potentially hazardous foods;
Requires that food be protected from contamination;
Establishes standards for sanitization;
Establishes requirements for food handler health and
hygiene; and,
Establishes standards for food service equipment, among
other standards.
Existing law subjects the following special categories of
food facilities to specified requirements:
Mobile food facility, defined as any vehicle used in
conjunction with a commissary or other permanent food
facility upon which food is sold or distributed at
retail, exclusive of transporters, as defined.
Satellite food service, defined as a remotely located
food service operation that is conducted on the same
property as, in reasonable proximity to, and in
conjunction with and by, a fully enclosed permanent food
facility, exclusive of food service operations located
within a fully enclosed permanent food facility.
Mobile support unit, defined as a vehicle used in
conjunction with a commissary or other permanent food
facility that travels to, and services, mobile food
facilities as needed, to replenish supplies, including
food and potable water; clean the interior of the unit;
or, dispose of liquid or solid wastes.
Nonpermanent food facility, defined as a food facility
that operates from a mobile unit or at a nonpermanent
location, including, but not limited to, a certified
farmers' market, a mobile food facility, a temporary food
facility, or a vending machine.
This bill:
Single operating site mobile food facilities
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 241 (Runner)Page 3
Establishes "single operating site mobile food facility" as
a new category of mobile food facilities regulated under
the California Retail Food Code (CalCode).
Imposes various requirements on these facilities, revises
standards applicable to mobile food facilities and
satellite food facilities.
Defines single operating site mobile food facilities as at
least one, but no more than four, unenclosed mobile food
facilities, and their auxiliary units, that operate
adjacent to each other at a single location.
Prohibits a single operating site mobile food facility from
providing whole fish, whole aquatic invertebrates, or
prepackaged food, and from engaging in limited food
preparation.
Imposes on a single operating site mobile food facility,
that is required to provide
warewashing and handwashing facilities, specified
requirements on warewashing and hand washing, and specified
permitting requirements.
Satellite food service
Allows satellite food service operations that handle
nonprepackaged food to be equipped with approved
handwashing facilities and warewashing facilities that are
either permanently plumbed or self-contained, as opposed to
requiring only permanently plumbed facilities, pursuant to
current law.
Revises the requirements for the storage of food and
utensils when satellite food service is not being
conducted.
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 241 (Runner)Page 4
Allows the duly contracted personnel or third-party
provider of the permitholder to control satellite food
service activities, in addition to the permitholder of the
fully enclosed permanent food facility.
Requires, for the purposes of permitting and enforcement,
the permitholder of the permanent food facility and the
permitholder of the satellite food service to be the same.
Nonpermanent food facilities
Repeals the requirement that nonpermanent food facilities
that handle nonprepackaged food shall be equipped with both
potable water and wastewater tanks, unless approved
temporary water and wastewater connections are provided.
Mobile food facilities
Prohibits a mobile food facility that is engaged in food
preparation, other than limited food preparation, from
operating in conjunction with a mobile support unit.
Revises the requirement that all food from a mobile food
facility shall be stored at the commissary or other
approved facility at the end of the operating day.
Provides that a mobile food facility operating within a
fully enclosed structure shall not be required to provide a
secondary food compartment over food preparation areas.
Exempts mobile food facilities handling only whole produce,
whole fish, whole aquatic invertebrates, or the bulk
dispensing of nonpotentially hazardous beverages from the
requirement to provide handwashing facilities, as
specified.
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 241 (Runner)Page 5
Revises the requirement for the placement of the
handwashing and warewashing sinks for an unenclosed mobile
food facility. Revises the requirements under which a
mobile food facility is not required to provide a
warewashing sink. Requires overhead protection, as
specified, for warewashing sinks for unenclosed mobile food
facilities. Specifies, for mobile food facilities where
nonprepackaged food is cooked, blended, or otherwise
prepared, and for unenclosed mobile food facilities that
prepare potentially hazardous beverages for immediate
service, the requirements of the compartments of
warewashing sinks.
Other provisions
Makes additional technical and nonsubstantive amendments to
the CalCode. Declares that these provisions will take
effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Limits the authority of a local health officer or local
enforcement agency to restrict or exclude only those
employees who are specifically food employees from a food
facility. Prohibits food stored in a private home from
being used or offered for sale in a food facility.
Allows an enforcement officer to establish additional
structural or operational requirements, or both, as
necessary to ensure that foods, food-contact surfaces, and
utensils are of a safe and sanitary quality, based upon
local environmental conditions, location, and other similar
factors.
Revises the definitions of cold water, egg, fabric
implements and types of materials used to create them,
frozen food, prepackaged food, temporary mobile facility,
transporter, and produce stand, and vermin as specified.
Defines "person in charge," for purposes of assuring food
safety as it related to employee roles.
Clarifies that a child care facility, a community care
facility, a residential care facility for the elderly, and
a residential care facility for the elderly chronically ill
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 241 (Runner)Page 6
are not defined as food facilities.
Revises exemptions for premises set aside for wine tasting.
Revises language regarding methods in protecting food from
cross contamination.
Revises the definition for potentially hazardous foods and
provides that unused portions of potentially hazardous
foods held for dispensing in serving lines and salad bars
may be maintained at specified temperatures and times if
the unused portions are discarded.
Revises the definition of food compartment and limited food
preparation. Makes an exception to the requirement to have
additional food compartments when adding ingredients to a
beverage, or dispensing into a serving container in
response to an individual consumer order, (such as the case
with coffee/cappuccino carts) when conducting limited food
preparation.
Specifies manual warewashing temperatures. Specifies
mechanical warewashing sanitation methods and procedures.
Provides principles delineated for following the Hazard
Analysis Critical Control Point principles, developed by
the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological
Criteria, and the steps needed to complete them. These
steps include, but are not limited to identification of
likely hazards to consumers presented by a specific food,
determination of critical control points in receiving,
storage, preparation, displaying, and dispensing of a food,
and measurable critical limits for each critical control
point determined.
Makes clarifying changes regarding the heating and cooling
of food, the sanitization of equipment, the compliance of
nonconforming structural conditions of food facilities.
Makes other various technical and nonsubstantive changes.
Provides that fees collected for the permit, or
registration, or related services, that cover
administrative and enforcement expenses shall only be
expended for that purpose.
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 241 (Runner)Page 7
FISCAL IMPACT
The Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis of SB 1359
(Runner) of 2008, which is substantially similar to SB 241,
reported minor, if any, nonreimbursable local incarceration
costs, as this bill would have changed the definition of an
existing crime.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
According to the author, CalCode consolidates all mobile
food facilities into one broad category of regulated
facilities, including smaller coffee carts and limited food
preparation kiosks, such as hot dog carts. The author notes
that many of these carts and kiosks operate and are
contained within small spaces, such as building lobbies or
foyers. The author contends that the strict CalCode
permitting requirements apply to all mobile food
facilities, regardless of size, and have driven many of
these food cart operators out of business. The author notes
that many food cart operators are unable to absorb the
additional costs associated with meeting CalCode
requirements, such as installing additional wash sinks, and
the small spaces that these units occupy cannot accommodate
the increase in floor space required for compliance with
CalCode standards. The author states that, by revising the
definition of a mobile food facility to include a single
operating site, this bill will allow local environmental
health departments to apply appropriate operating
requirements based on the size and space of each mobile
unit and ensures that smaller food units like carts and
kiosks will not have to comply with the same extensive
permitting requirements applicable to larger mobile food
facilities, such as lunch or catering trucks.
The author also states that the changes to the CalCode that
this bill makes have been approved by the 60-member
California Retail Food Safety Coalition, sponsors of the
original CalCode legislation, SB 144 (Runner, 2006), which
includes representatives from federal, state, and local
health and environmental health officials, as well as
industry. The author further states that SB 144 reorganized
food safety laws to reflect the latest standards; however,
as with all bills related to fields that continue to
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 241 (Runner)Page 8
experience technological advances, there were several
unforeseen consequences, and subsequent clean-up language
necessary to ensure the best and most effective
implementation of California's food safety laws.
CalCode
In 1985, the Legislature consolidated various overlapping
laws dealing with retail food into a comprehensive
"California Uniform Retail Food Facilities Law." Two
decades later, through SB 144 (Runner), Chapter 23,
Statutes of 2006, CalCode was established 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. CalCode
is modeled after the federal Model Food Code, which is
drafted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and
updated every two years.
Mobile food facilities
Mobile food facilities are vehicles staffed by one or more
persons designed for the preparation and serving of a
variety of foods. Current law requires them to be installed
with the same types of equipment found in permanent food
service establishments, such as mechanical refrigeration,
an onboard water system with a water heater, and sinks with
three separate washing compartments.
Mobile food facilities are required to operate in
conjunction with a commissary (a food facility that
services mobile food facilities, mobile support units, or
vending machines where any of the following occur: food,
containers, or supplies are stored, food is prepared or
prepackaged for sale or service at other locations,
utensils are cleaned and liquid and solid wastes are
disposed, or potable water is obtained.) The commissary
must hold a valid health permit and be able to supply the
necessary support services for the mobile food facility.
For example, mobile food facility equipment must be washed
and sanitized using the facilities of the commissary and
the commissary must provide services for taking on potable
water and discarding wastewater. A mobile food facility is
required to return to its commissary for servicing at least
once each day of operation. Foods must be prepared on the
mobile unit, or in the approved permitted commissary.
An unenclosed mobile food facility, such as a cart, is a
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 241 (Runner)Page 9
unit limited to certain types of food handling and operated
by an employee standing on the ground adjacent to the unit.
Some of the types of foods which may be sold from a cart
are prepackaged foods, unpackaged, non-potentially
hazardous foods, hot dogs and coffee.
Related legislation
SB 453 (Padilla) would require at least one accredited food
safety certification examination to be offered online.
This bill is set to be heard in the Senate Health Committee
on April 29, 2009.
SB 550 (Florez) would require a grocery store that uses a
programmable checkout scanner to ensure that when a
recalled product is scanned, the programmable checkout
scanner will notify the employee and customer that the
product being purchased is subject to a recall. This bill
is set to be heard in the Senate Business, Professions and
Economic Development Committee on May 11, 2009.
SB 562 (Florez) would specify that procedures for
implementing a citrus inspection program shall also include
development of a communications program to inform producers
and handlers of the requirements of the inspection program.
This bill is currently in the Senate Rules Committee.
AB 537 (Arambula) would require every operator of a
farmers' market, as a condition of certification, to
implement a system to accept electronic benefit transfer
payments by January 1, 2012. This bill is currently in
the Assembly Agriculture Committee.
Prior legislation
SB 1359 (Runner) of 2008 would have made minor, technical
and nonsubstantive amendments to statutes regulating health
and sanitation standards for retail food facilities.
The provisions of this bill are included in SB 241. Vetoed
by the Governor.
SB 144 (Runner), Chapter 23, Statutes of 2006, repeals the
California Uniform Retail Food Facilities Law (CURFFL) and
recasts and revises its provisions under the California
Retail Food Code (CalCode), effective July 1, 2007.
Modeled after the federal Model Food Code, CalCode makes
several enhancements to CURFFL related to documentation,
uniformity and consistency, best available science, at-risk
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populations, and flexibility of provisions.
SB 744 (Runner, 2007), Chapter 96, Statutes of 2007, made
various technical, clarifying, and nonsubstantive changes
to the minor changes to the California Uniform Retail Food
Facilities Law, which was repealed and recast by SB 144.
AB 2540 (Mendoza) of 2008 would have established "single
operating site mobile food facility" as a new category of
mobile food facilities and would have revised existing
standards relating to water storage, contamination
prevention, and construction requirements for mobile food
facilities and satellite food service operations. The
provisions of this bill are included in SB 241. Vetoed by
the Governor.
AB 1773 (Hayashi) of 2008 would have required the Director
of the Department of Public Health to review and make
determinations concerning the food safety and dietary
service requirements for long-term health care facilities.
This bill was placed on the inactive file on the Senate
Floor.
AB 2168 (Jones) Chapter 447, Statutes of 2008 includes farm
stands, as defined, for purposes of permitting and
enforcement, within the definition of food facility, and
makes other changes regarding the direct sale of
agriculture products by farmers to the public and the
direct marketing of agricultural products by retail stands.
Arguments in support
The California Retail Food Safety Coalition (CRFSC), the
sponsor of SB 241, urges the expedited passage of SB 241 in
order to minimize further disruption of the food cart
industry. CRFSC additionally states that the adoption of
the provisions in this bill are aimed at enhancing food
safety and consistency in retail food facility permitting
and inspections.
The California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators (CAEHA), states that they are a participant
in the sponsoring coalition, CRFSC, which since 1993 has
been focusing on retail safety in the state by sponsoring
improvements to the CalCode. CAEHA further states that SB
241 is essentially the reintroduction of two bills from the
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 241 (Runner)Page 11
2008 legislative session, SB 1359, which included
provisions that conformed California law more closely to
the science-based federal food code, and AB 2540, which was
introduced to correct a number of code changes made at the
time of adopting CalCode in 2006 which had severely
hampered the permitting and operations of food carts.
CAEHA contends that while both bills passed out of the
Legislature on special consent, they both fell prey to the
Governor's blanket veto of almost 300 lesser measures
during the height of the budget crisis.
Moore Marketing writes that, due to the unanticipated
errors in the version of CalCode that was implemented on
July 1, 2007, the industry which encompasses mobile food
facilites such as coffee carts, hot dog carts, and airpot
kiosks came to a complete halt. As a designer and
manufacturer of carts VanSan Corporation, Moore Marketing
states that they grew to become the largest and highest
quality cart fabricator in California. Moore Marketing
argues that VanSan Corporation went out of business in
December, 2008, and that because of the CalCode
restrictions they have been unable to produce one single
order to meet its requirements from July 1, 2007 to
December, 2008. Moore Marketing contends that SB 241
offers a solution that can have an immediate impact on the
industry, and no state funds are needed for its
implementation.
COMMENTS
1.Legislative Counsel digest correction. In the digest for
SB 241, Legislative Counsel incorrectly states that this
bill deletes the prohibition on allowing toilet rooms to
be used for the storage of food, equipment, or supplies.
The author might wish to consult with Legislative Counsel
regarding revision to the digest to correct this.
POSITIONS
Support: California Retail Food Safety Coalition (sponsor)
California Association of Environmental
Health Administrators
California Retailers Association
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Moore Marketing
Oppose: None received
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