BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 416
AUTHOR: Florez
AMENDED: April 22, 2009
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 29, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Meat Products: antibiotics.
SUMMARY
This bill, among other things, prohibits schools from
serving poultry and meat products treated with
non-therapeutic antibiotics to pupils, beginning January 1,
2012.
BACKGROUND
Current law:
1) Requires all public school districts and county
superintendents of education to make available one
nutritionally adequate meal, defined as a meal that
qualifies for reimbursement under the National School
Lunch Program, to each needy student every school day
and authorizes a child nutrition entity to apply to
the California Department of Education (CDE) for all
available federal and state funds.
2) Establishes the per meal reimbursement rate for free
and reduced-price meals at $0.2195 for schools that do
not serve free- and reduced-price meals containing
trans fat or that have been fried. Schools that serve
free- and reduced-price meals that contain trans fat
or that have been fried do not receive any
reimbursement for those meals served. The state does
not provide any reimbursement for meals paid at full
price.
3) Requires, as a condition of receiving reimbursement
for free and reduced price meals, schools and school
districts to:
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a) Not sell or serve food that has been deep
fried, par fried, or flash fried by a school or
school district.
b) Not sell or serve a food item containing
artificial trans fat.
c) Not sell or serve a food item that, as part
of the manufacturing process, has been deep
fried, par fried or flash fried in a prohibited
oil or fat (prohibits the use of palm, coconut,
palm kernel, and lard.
4) Restricts food sold via vending machine or food
service establishment that contains artificial trans
fat.
5) Restricts the type of beverages sold during certain
times of the day at school.
According to the Senate Food and Agriculture Committee
analysis of this bill, current law:
1) Specifies that the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) is responsible for the enforcement
of regulations relating to the sale, manufacture, and
use of livestock drugs in California.
2) Identifies specific "restricted drugs" which might
present a hazard to human health if administered
directly to humans or if improperly administered to
livestock is dangerous to the health of the livestock
or to humans who consumer the products from the
livestock. Restricted drugs must be sold from a
CDFA-licensed business. A licensed facility may be
inspected by CDFA for proper storage and handling.
CDFA may restrict what drugs may be sold by the
business. Licensed businesses must maintain records
of the quantity of restricted drugs sold, date of
sale, purchaser, and other information. The list of
"restricted drugs" includes all of the following:
a) Arsenic compounds and preparations.
b) Diethylstilbestrol and other substances
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which have a hormone like action.
c) Antibiotic preparations, and other drugs and
their preparations which CDFA determines are
hazardous to the health of livestock or public
safety.
ANALYSIS
This bill prohibits schools from serving poultry and meat
products treated with non-therapeutic antibiotics to
pupils, beginning January 1, 2012. Specifically, this
bill:
1) Prohibits schools or school districts from serving
poultry or meat products treated with non-therapeutic
antibiotics to pupils, beginning January 1, 2012.
2) Prohibits the use of antibiotics for non-therapeutic
use in any animal raised for human consumption,
beginning January 1, 2015.
3) Requires all state and local government personnel
responsible for purchasing meat products for human
consumption to always prefer meat supplies produced
without the use of medically important antibiotics as
feed additives.
4) Defines "antibiotic" as any drug intended for use in
food-producing animals that is composed wholly or
partly of either of the following:
a) Any kind of penicillin, tetracycline,
macrolide, lincosamide, streptogramin,
minoglycoside, or sulfonamide.
b) Any other drug or derivative of a drug that
is used in humans or intended for use in humans
to treat or prevent disease or infection caused
by micro-organisms.
5) Defines "non-therapeutic use," with respect to
antibiotics, as any use of the drug as a feed or water
additive for an animal in the absence of any clinical
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sign of disease in the animal for growth promotion,
feed efficiency, weight gain, routine disease
prevention, or other routine purpose.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) How will schools know ? Schools purchase food products
from many sources. Most schools participate in the
United States Department of Agriculture commodity
program, whereby schools purchase surplus food from a
list of available commodities. Schools that purchase
meat products directly from a vendor should be able to
determine whether those products where treated with
non-therapeutic antibiotics, but it may not be as easy
for schools that purchase commodity meat. How will
schools know if commodities have been treated with
non-therapeutic antibiotics?
2) Cost . It is possible that poultry and meat that has
not been treated with non-therapeutic antibiotics will
be more expensive to purchase. Will schools be able
to absorb any increased costs?
3) Alternative approach . As an alternative to
prohibiting schools from serving poultry and meat that
has been treated with non-therapeutic antibiotics,
staff recommends amendments to instead require schools
to make every effort to purchase poultry and meat
products that have not been treated with
non-therapeutic antibiotics. Further, schools that
purchase poultry or meat products that are not free of
non-therapeutic antibiotics, or if the school does not
know if the products are free of these antibiotics,
would be required to report to the Superintendent of
Public Instruction the reasons for such a purchase (no
other product could be found, other products were too
expensive, or if the school could not determine if the
product had been treated with non-therapeutic
antibiotics), a list of products purchased, from which
companies the products were purchased, how much they
cost, and how much an alternative product would have
cost. The Superintendent of Public Instruction would
then compile this information and report to the
Legislature on the feasibility of phasing in a
prohibition on food treated with non-therapeutic
antibiotics.
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4) Double-referred . This bill was heard by Senate Food
and Agriculture Committee on April 21, and passed on a
3-1 vote.
SUPPORT
Animal Place
Breast Cancer Action
California Political Action Committee for Animals (Paw PAC)
Center for Food Safety
Consumers Union
Food & Water Watch
OPPOSITION
Agricultural Council of California
Alliance of Western Milk Producers
Alpharma Animal Health
Animal Health Institute
California Cattlemen's Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Dairies, Inc.
California Dairy Campaign
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Grain and Feed Association
California Pork Producers Association
California Poultry Federation (CPF)
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA)
California Women for Agriculture
Center for Food Safety
Central Coast Fryer Farms Inc.
Foster Poultry Farms
Land O'Lakes, Inc.
Milk Producers Council (MPC)
Neighbor Market Association (NMA)
Pacific Egg and Poultry Association
Pitman Farms
Squab Producers of California
UFCW 8-Golden State
United Food & Commercial Workers Western States Council
Western United Dairymen (WUD)
Willie Bird Turkeys
Woodland Farms
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Zacky Farms