AB 682, as amended, Ian Calderon. State procurement: food: plumped poultry.
Existing law requires a vendor that operates or maintains a vending machine on designated state property, until a specified date, to offer food and beverages in the vending machine that meet accepted nutritional guidelines, as defined, in accordance with certain percentages.
Existing law governing contracting between state agencies and private contractors sets forth requirements for the procurement of supplies, materials, equipment, and services by state agencies and sets forth the various responsibilities of the Department of General Services and other state agencies in overseeing and implementing state contracting procedures and policies.
This bill would prohibit chicken or turkey purchased to be served or sold in any state-owned or state-leased building or public school
facility at food concessions and cafeterias from being “plumped” in any way, beginning January 1,begin delete 2014,end deletebegin insert 2015,end insert or upon expiration of an existing contract. The bill would prohibit the Department of General Servicesbegin delete formend deletebegin insert fromend insert purchasing “plumped” poultry when letting contracts for the purchase of food to be sold or served in a state building, as specified.
The bill, for purposes of these provisions, would define the term “plumped” with respect to poultry, to mean the injection of saltwater, chicken stock, seaweed extract, or some combination thereof into thebegin delete poultry, to increase its weight and priceend deletebegin insert
poultryend insert.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) More than six million California adults, 23 percent of the
4state’s population, are obese, and an additional 9.3 million adults,
534 percent of the state’s population, are overweight, resulting in
6an estimated $21 billion in health care costs for California in 2006.
7One in three children in California, 10 to 17 years of age, is
8overweight or obese. Therefore, offering healthy and sustainable
9food options at state workplaces would help increase the
10consumption of foods that are low in fat, sodium, and sugars,
11thereby reducing the instances of obesity, diabetes, heart disease,
12and
other preventable health conditions.
13(b) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has
14published a guide entitled “Improving the Food Environment
15Through Nutrition Standards: A Guide for Government
16Procurement,” which finds that states and localities can develop,
17adopt, and implement food procurement policies in order to model
18healthier food environments to positively impact government
19settings, including employee cafeterias, correctional facilities,
20schools, child care centers, public hospitals, senior centers, and
21parks.
22(c) The practice of “plumping” chicken or turkey can increase
23the sodium content by up to 500 percent. Fresh, natural chicken
24should have no more than 70mg of sodium per four ounce serving,
25whereas plumped chicken can contain up to 400mg of
sodium.
26The average household of four people, because of “plumping”
27chicken or turkey, spends approximately $127 per year on
28saltwater.
Section 11005.8 is added to the Government Code, to
2read:
(a) Beginning January 1,begin delete 2014,end deletebegin insert 2015,end insert or upon
4expiration of an existing contract,begin insert with regard to parties subject
5to that contract,end insert whichever occurs later, chicken or turkey
6purchased to be sold or served in any state-owned building,
7state-leased building, or public school facility, at food concessions
8and cafeterias shall not be “plumped” in any way.
9(b) For purposes of this section, “plumped” means the injection
10of
saltwater, chicken stock, seaweed extract, or some combination
11thereof into chicken or turkeybegin delete to increase its weight and priceend delete.
Section 10300.1 is added to the Public Contract Code,
13to read:
(a) Beginning January 1,begin delete 2014,end deletebegin insert 2015,end insert when letting
15contracts for the purchase of food to be sold or served in a
16state-owned building or state-leased building for food concessions,
17cafeterias, or vending operations, the Department of General
18Services shall not purchase chicken or turkey that has been
19“plumped” in any way.
20(b) For purposes of this section, “plumped” means the injection
21of saltwater, chicken stock, seaweed extract, or some combination
22thereof into chicken or turkeybegin delete to increase its weight and priceend delete.
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