BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1235
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1235 (Knight)
As Amended August 19, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE : 36-0
HEALTH 17-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Pan, Maienschein, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Bonilla, Bonta, Ch�vez, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Chesbro, Gomez, Gonzalez, | |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Roger Hern�ndez, | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| |Lowenthal, Mansoor, | |Holden, Jones, Linder, |
| |Nazarian, Waldron, | |Pan, Quirk, |
| |Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| |Wagner, Wieckowski | |Weber |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Expands an exemption from provisions of the California
Retail Food Code (CRFC) premises set aside for a beer tasting
facility that currently serves chips and pretzels to include
prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous food for onsite
consumption. Requires a beer tasting facility that sells
prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous foods to comply with
general provisions of the CRFC relating to proper storage of
food, inspection, and enforcement provisions, impoundment of
food, penalties, and owner/operator responsibilities; limits the
food display area to less than 25 square feet.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the CRFC, 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 CRFC, and vests local
enforcement agencies with primary responsibility for
enforcement of CRFC.
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
SB 1235
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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, and farm stands.
3)Establishes a tiered statewide standard to permit non-grocery
retailers with limited food display areas to sell prepackaged,
non-potentially hazardous food products. Requires compliance
with general provisions of the CRFC and definitions. Requires
varying compliance - depending on the square footage of the
food display area of the facility - with CRFC provisions
relating to proper storage of food, inspection and enforcement
provisions, impoundment of food, penalties, and owner/operator
responsibilities.
4)Exempts from the definition of a food facility, and therefore
from the provisions of CRFC, premises set aside for wine
tasting if no other beverage, except for bottles of wine and
prepackaged non-potentially hazardous beverages, is offered
for sale for onsite consumption, and no food, except for
crackers, is served.
5)Exempts from the definition of a food facility, and from the
provisions of CRFC, premises set aside by a beer manufacturer,
as defined, for the purposes of beer tasting, if no other
beverage, except for beer and prepackaged non-potentially
hazardous beverages, is offered for sale for onsite
consumption, and no food, except for crackers or pretzels, is
served.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, negligible state fiscal effect.
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill provides a much
needed convenience for breweries in California to offer an
additional service for their customers in this cash-strapped
economy. The author further states that allowing brewery
tasting rooms to sell prepackaged foods, rather than just
prepackaged soda, water, and tea gives businesses more
flexibility and more service to offer to their customers.
The CRFC is patterned after the federal Food and Drug
Administration's (FDA's) Food Code, which is a model for local,
state, and federal jurisdictions that are responsible for
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ensuring food safety. According to the FDA, the Food Code
represents FDA's best advice, updated every four years, for a
uniform system of provisions that address the safety and
protection of food offered at retail and in food service.
Forty-eight states and territories have adopted food codes
patterned after the Food Code, representing 80% of the U.S.
population.
Bravery Brewing Company (BBC) writes that this bill provides a
win-win situation because it allows breweries to offer
convenience to patrons who wish to enjoy a snack, while also
generating increased sales revenue for the brewery. BBC further
states that they wish to provide patrons with safe food items
while drinking, but are not interested in becoming a restaurant.
Analysis Prepared by : Dharia McGrew / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
FN: 0004848