BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1014
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Date of Hearing: April 5, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
William W. Monning, Chair
AB 1014 (Fletcher and Chesbro) - As Introduced: February 18,
2011
SUBJECT : Food facilities: definition.
SUMMARY : Exempts premises set aside for the purposes of beer
tasting, regardless of whether there is a charge for the
tasting, from the definition of a food facility subject to the
California Retail Food Code (CRFC), if beer and prepackaged
nonpotentially hazardous beverages are the only beverages
offered for sale for onsite consumption and crackers or pretzels
are the only food served.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the CRFC to govern all aspects of retail food
safety and sanitation in California and makes local
environmental health departments primarily responsible for
enforcing CRFC through local food safety inspection programs.
2)Defines a retail food facility as an operation that stores,
prepares, packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food
for human consumption at the retail level, including, but not
limited to public and private school cafeterias, restricted
food service facilities, licensed health care facilities,
commissaries, temporary food facilities, vending machines,
certified farmers markets, as specified, and, farm stands, as
specified.
3)Exempts premises set aside for wine tasting from regulation
under the CRFC if no other beverage, except for bottles of
wine and prepackaged nonpotentially hazardous beverages, is
sold for onsite consumption and no food, except for crackers,
is served.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill has not yet been analyzed by a fiscal
committee.
COMMENTS :
1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL . According to the author, this bill is
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intended to provide regulatory relief to small craft beer
brewers who must currently make substantial financial
commitments to install serving facilities that are on par with
the health and sanitation standards for retail food facilities
under the CRFC. The author notes that, for many of these
craft brew businesses, the costs to upgrade any facilities
they have to meet restaurant standards is too expensive and
prevents them from considering tasting rooms on their
premises. The author asserts that craft brewers simply seek
to provide small tasting rooms where samples of their craft
beers can be tasted, enjoyed, and promoted; therefore, they
should not be subject to the more stringent standards in the
CRFC that are appropriately applicable to restaurants and
other food establishments that handle and prepare food on
site. The author argues that this bill will extend the
current exemption from CRFC regulation afforded to wine
tasting rooms to beer tasting rooms and promote the growth of
California's craft brewing industry.
2)CURRENT WINE TASTING EXEMPTION . AB 1778 (Areias), Chapter
1065, Statutes of 1985, establishes the current exemption for
wine tasting rooms from laws affecting food facilities.
According to the analysis by the Senate Health and Human
Services Committee, existing law at the time had been
interpreted by county health inspectors to require wineries
that offer complimentary samples to comply with licensing,
permitting and sanitation requirements applicable to food
facilities. The author argued that wine is not a food and
should not be subject to the same requirements as a restaurant
or other establishment that prepares food onsite. As a
result, premises set aside for winetasting, as long as no food
or beverage is offered for sale for onsite consumption, were
exempted from the definition of food facility in existing law.
3)SUPPORT . The sponsor of this bill, California Small Brewers
Association (CSBA), states that craft breweries produce
award-winning beers that are increasingly being recognized and
purchased in national and international markets, and as the
popularity of these brands has increased, breweries have
installed tasting rooms in response to consumer demand and to
facilitate tourism and economic growth in their communities.
According to CSBA, these tasting rooms have recently been
subjected to visits from their local health inspectors seeking
to regulate these areas as food facilities. CSBA contends
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that the fact that no prepared food other than beer is being
served on these premises has no bearing on the inspections.
CSBA points out that wine tasting rooms are already exempted
from regulation as food facilities and this bill simply
extends this same exemption to beer tasting rooms if similar
conditions are met.
4)PRIOR LEGISLATION .
a) AB 1778 excludes premises set aside for wine tasting
if no other food or beverage is sold for onsite
consumption from the definition of food facility.
b) SB 241 (Runner), Chapter 571, Statutes of 2009,
revises the exemption for wine tasting rooms from
regulation as food facilities to clarify that it applies
regardless of whether there is a charge for the wine
tasting, if no other beverage, except for bottles of wine
and prepackaged nonpotentially hazardous beverages, is
sold for onsite consumption and no food, except for
crackers, is served.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Small Brewers Association (sponsor)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Cassie Royce / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097