BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D., Chair
BILL NO: SB 170
AUTHOR: Wolk
INTRODUCED: February 4, 2013
HEARING DATE: April 3, 2012
CONSULTANT: Marchand
SUBJECT : Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park.
SUMMARY : Exempts from the requirements to register as a food
processing facility, and to obtain a permit as a retail food
facility, a historic water-driven grist mill in order to allow
grain to be milled, packaged and sold at the mill without having
to meet the requirements of a food processing facility or a
retail food facility.
Existing law:
1.Prohibits any person from engaging in the manufacture,
packing, or holding of any processed food unless the person
has a valid registration as a food processing facility from
the Department of Public Health (DPH).
2.Exempts from the food processing facility registration
requirements any person whose manufacturing, packing, or
holding of processed food is limited solely to temporarily
holding processed foods for up to seven days for further
transport if the foods are not potentially hazardous foods, or
to any person whose manufacturing, packing, or holding of
processed food is limited solely to certain activities that
are authorized under other specified permits and licenses.
3.Prohibits any food facility from being open for business
without a valid permit from DPH or the local health agency
having jurisdiction over the food facility.
4.Defines "food facility" as an operation that stores, prepares,
packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human
consumption at the retail level.
5.Establishes various requirements that food facilities must
meet, including requiring that the interior floor, sides, and
top of the food holding area to be constructed of a smooth,
washable, impervious material capable of withstanding frequent
cleaning.
Continued---
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6.Exempts from the definition of "food facility" certain
specified entities, including premises operated by a producer
that sells only whole produce grown by the producer, provided
the sales are conducted on premises controlled by the
producer.
This bill:
1.Exempts from the requirement to register as a food processing
facility the milling, packaging, and selling of grain produced
and sold at a water-driven grist mill on the National Register
of Historic Places, provided best management practices are
followed for the processing and handling of the product, the
flour is identified as being produced in a historic mill using
traditional methods, and the product meets federal food
adulteration purity standards.
2.Exempts from the definition of food facility, for purposes of
law requiring food facilities to obtain a permit from DPH or
the local health agency having jurisdiction over the food
facility, a water-driven grist mill that is on the National
Register of Historic Places and that has onsite sales of grain
that is milled at the facility.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal
committee.
COMMENTS :
1.Author's statement. In 2011, as part of its efforts to cut
state expenditures, the Bale Grist Mill and 69 other state
parks were selected for closure. The Napa County Regional Park
and Open Space District, in partnership with the Napa Valley
State Parks Association, is working to keep the mill open to
the public. Being able to sell for human consumption flour
produced at the mill is an important element in generating the
revenues needed to keep this national historic landmark open
to the public.
2.Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park. The Bale Grist Mill
State Historic Park is located near St. Helena in Napa County.
According to its website, the water-powered mill was built in
1846. Both the mill and its 36-foot water wheel are protected
as a state historic landmark and have been partially restored.
3.Double referral. This bill is double referred. Should it pass
out of this committee, it will be referred to the Senate
SB 170 | Page
3
Committee on Natural Resources and Water.
4.Support. The Napa County Board of Supervisors (Napa County)
writes in support that the Bale Grist Mill is one of only two
remaining water-driven mills west of the Mississippi River.
Napa County states that the mill currently sells flour
produced at the mill, but it must be labeled as not fit for
human consumption because the mill is not registered as either
a retail food facility or a food processing facility. Napa
County cannot meet the standards for a retail food facility
or a food processing facility because the physical historic
construction of the mill makes it impossible to comply with
current codes. For example, wood floors are not allowed, the
porous grinding stone is not allowed, and contact between
grain/flour and the wood in the grain chutes and flour bins is
not allowed. Napa County supports this bill to allow the Bale
Grist Mill to be financially viable and not dependent on state
subsidies.
This bill is also supported by the American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, which states
that this bill addresses the Bale Grist Mill State Historic
Park's unique situation. AFSCME states that this bill is a
simple, safe solution that will prevent the closure of yet
another one of California's historic sites.
5.Should a special permit be required? One of the provisions of
this bill adds a historic grist mill to the list of entities
exempted from the requirement to register as a food processing
facility. There are currently 10 exemptions listed in current
law, and each of these existing exemptions requires the entity
to have a specialized permit or license. For example, the
following entities are among those exempted from registering
as a food processing facility: a holder of a valid bottled
water or water vending machine license; a holder of a valid
cold storage license; a holder of a valid cannery license; a
holder of a valid winegrower's license or wine blender's
license; and a holder of a permit issued by a local health
department to operate a processing establishment that only
holds or warehouses processed food, under specified
conditions. The Legislature may wish to consider whether the
exemption proposed by this bill should follow the same form,
and require a permit to be issued to the grist mill by the
local health department.
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SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION :
Support: American Federation of State, County, and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
Napa County Board of Supervisors
Oppose: None received.
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