BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D., Chair
BILL NO: SB 1235
AUTHOR: Knight
AMENDED: April 21, 2014
HEARING DATE: April 30, 2014
CONSULTANT: Norring
SUBJECT : Prepackaged food.
SUMMARY : Expands an exemption from the definition of a food
facility that currently permits beer tasting facilities to serve
crackers or pretzels without meeting the definition of a food
facility, to also permit beer tasting facilities to serve
prepackaged chips, pretzels, crackers, nuts, jerky, dried fruit,
and energy bars for onsite consumption.
Existing law:
1.Establishes the California Retail Food Code (CalCode), which
establishes health and sanitation standards for retail food
facilities, as defined. Makes the Department of Public Health
responsible for the adoption of regulations to implement and
administer CalCode, and vests local enforcement agencies with
primary responsibility for enforcement of CalCode.
2.Defines a food facility as an operation that stores, prepares,
packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human
consumption, on or off the premises, regardless of whether
there is a charge, at the retail level. Food facilities
include, but are not limited to, permanent and nonpermanent
facilities, public and private school cafeterias, restricted
food service facilities, licensed health care facilities,
commissaries, mobile food facilities, mobile support units,
temporary food facilities, vending machines, certified
farmers' markets, as specified, and farm stands, as specified.
3.Exempts from the definition of a food facility and from the
provisions of CalCode premises set aside for wine tasting,
that comply with glassware cleaning provisions, 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 offered for sale for
onsite consumption, and no food, except for crackers, is
served.
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SB 1235 | Page 2
4.Exempts from the definition of a food facility, and from the
provisions of CalCode, premises set aside by a beer
manufacturer, as defined, for the purposes of beer tasting,
regardless of whether there is a charge for the beer tasting,
if no other beverage, except for beer and prepackaged
nonpotentially hazardous beverages, is offered for sale for
onsite consumption, and no food, except for crackers or
pretzels, is served.
This bill: Expands an exemption from the definition of a food
facility that currently permits beer tasting facilities to serve
crackers or pretzels without meeting the definition of a food
facility, to also permit beer tasting facilities to serve
prepackaged chips, pretzels, crackers, nuts, jerky, dried fruit,
and energy bars for onsite consumption.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill has not been heard by a fiscal
committee.
COMMENTS :
1.Author's statement. According to the author, brewery owners
currently face obscure limitations within current Health and
Safety Code as to food that can be sold for onsite consumption
while patrons are beer tasting in their facilities. This bill
is needed to further specify the prepackaged foods that are
eligible to be sold in the tasting room. Current law is
ambiguous, and it is unclear why the law specifically spells
out two food items, but fails to list a variety of prepackaged
foods that are safe for onsite consumption. It is clear that
current law needs to be amended to allow a greater variety of
prepackaged foods to be sold at these local breweries. This
bill provides a much needed convenience for breweries in
California to offer one additional service for their customers
in this cash-strapped economy. Allowing brewery tasting rooms
to sell prepackaged foods other than crackers and pretzels
gives businesses more flexibility and more service to offer to
their faithful customers.
2.Related legislation. SB 170 (Wolk) from 2013 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
SB 1235 | Page
3
facility. SB 170 is currently on the Assembly Inactive File.
3.Prior legislation. AB 1014 (Fletcher), Chapter 159, Statutes
of 2011, exempts premises set aside by a beer manufacturer, as
defined, for beer tasting, from the definition of a food
facility, thereby, exempting beer tasting premises from the
provisions of the CalCode.
SB 241 (Runner), Chapter 571, Statutes of 2009, among other
things, clarifies the exemption for premises set aside for
wine tasting to apply regardless of whether there is a charge
for the wine tasting.
SB 144 (Runner), Chapter 23, Statutes of 2006, established the
CalCode 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.
AB 1778 (Areias), Chapter 1065, Statutes of 1985, excludes
premises set aside for wine tasting if no other beverage,
except for bottles of wine and prepackaged nonpotentially
hazardous beverages, is offered for sale for onsite
consumption and no food, except for crackers, is served, from
the definition of a food facility.
4.Support. Bravery Brewing Company (BBC) writes that this bill
provides a win-win situation because it allows breweries to
offer convenience to craft brewery patrons who wish to enjoy a
snack, while also generating increased sales revenue for the
brewery. BBC further states that current law adds costly
regulation expenses when breweries wish to sell prepackaged
food items, yet not for prepackaged drink items, which there
seems to be little difference between.
5.Policy comment. Rather than expanding a list of specific
foods, the author may wish to consider instead establishing a
more general ability for beer tasting facilities to provide
prepackaged, nonpotentially hazardous snack foods, with
appropriate limitations, so that future legislation adding
similar snack items, such as granola bars or sunflower seeds,
would not be necessary.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION :
SB 1235 | Page 4
Support: Bravery Brewing Company, LLC.
Oppose: None received.
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