Bill Text: CA SB602 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Food safety.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2010-09-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 309, Statutes of 2010. [SB602 Detail]
Download: California-2009-SB602-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 602 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 309
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 27, 2010
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 25, 2010
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 27, 2010
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 16, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 7, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 25, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 10, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 5, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 1, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 28, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 18, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 28, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Padilla
(Coauthors: Senators Denham and DeSaulnier)
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Sections 113947.2 and 113947.3 of, and to add
Sections 113790 and 113948 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating
to food safety, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect
immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 602, Padilla. Food safety.
The California Retail Food Code provides for the regulation of
health and sanitation standards for retail food facilities by the
State Department of Public Health. Under existing law, a violation of
these provisions is a misdemeanor. Local health agencies are
primarily responsible for enforcing this law.
This law generally requires food facilities, except temporary food
facilities, to have an owner or employee who has successfully passed
an approved and accredited food safety certification examination
from an accredited food protection manager certification
organization, except as specified.
This bill would require at least one of the accredited food safety
certification examinations to be offered online.
This bill would also require, with specified exceptions, a food
handler, as defined, who is hired prior to June 1, 2011, to obtain a
food handler card on or before July 1, 2011. The bill would require
food handlers hired after June 1, 2011, to obtain a food handler card
within 30 days of his or her date of hire. It would require each
food handler to maintain a valid food handler card for the duration
of his or her employment as a food handler.
This bill would exempt from compliance any food handler subject to
an existing local food handler program that took effect prior to
January 1, 2009, and would also require a food facility that employs
food handlers to maintain records documenting that each food handler
employed by the facility possesses a food handler card. The bill
would require at least one food handler training course to cost no
more than $15 and, if a training course is not available at that
cost, would remove the requirement to obtain a food handler card.
By creating a new crime and expanding the duties of local
enforcement officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 113790 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
113790. "Food handler" means an individual who is involved in the
preparation, storage, or service of food in a food facility, other
than an individual holding a valid food safety certificate issued
pursuant to Section 113947.3 or an individual involved in the
preparation, storage, or service of food in a temporary food
facility.
SEC. 2. Section 113947.2 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
113947.2. The food safety certification examination for purposes
of Section 113947.1 shall include, but need not be limited to, all of
the following elements of knowledge:
(a) Foodborne illness, including terms associated with foodborne
illness, micro-organisms, hepatitis A, and toxins that can
contaminate food and the illness that can be associated with
contamination, definition and recognition of potentially hazardous
foods, chemical, biological, and physical contamination of food, and
the illnesses that can be associated with food contamination, and
major contributing factors for foodborne illness.
(b) The relationship between time and temperature with respect to
foodborne illness, including the relationship between time and
temperature and micro-organisms during the various food handling,
preparation, and serving states, and the type, calibration, and use
of thermometers in monitoring food temperatures.
(c) The relationship between personal hygiene and food safety,
including the association of hand contact, personal habits and
behaviors, and food employee health to foodborne illness, and the
recognition of how policies, procedures, and management contribute to
improved food safety practices.
(d) Methods of preventing food contamination in all stages of food
handling, including terms associated with contamination and
potential hazards prior to, during, and after delivery.
(e) Procedures for cleaning and sanitizing equipment and utensils.
(f) Problems and potential solutions associated with facility and
equipment design, layout, and construction.
(g) Problems and potential solutions associated with temperature
control, preventing cross-contamination, housekeeping, and
maintenance.
SEC. 3. Section 113947.3 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
113947.3. (a) Food safety certification required pursuant to
Section 113947.1 shall be achieved by successfully passing an
examination from an accredited food protection manager certification
organization. The certification organization shall be accredited by
the American National Standards Institute as meeting the requirements
of the Conference for Food Protection's "Standards for Accreditation
of Food Protection Manager Certification Programs." Those food
employees who successfully pass an approved certification examination
shall be issued a certificate by the certifying organization. The
issuance date for each original certificate issued pursuant to this
section shall be the date when the individual successfully completes
the examination. Certificates shall be valid for five years from the
date of original issuance. Any replacement or duplicate certificate
shall have as its expiration date the same expiration date that was
on the original certificate.
(b) (1) By July 20, 2008, the department, in consultation with the
California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health,
representatives of the retail food industry, and other interested
parties, shall develop and implement a program for the purposes of
demonstrating adequate knowledge for operators of temporary food
facilities.
(2) At least one of the accredited food safety certification
examinations shall cost no more than sixty dollars ($60), including
the certificate. However, the department may adjust the cost of food
safety certification examinations to reflect actual expenses incurred
in producing and administering the food safety certification
examinations required under this section. If a food safety
certification examination is not available at the price established
by the department, the certification and recertification requirements
relative to food safety certification examinations imposed by this
section shall not apply.
(3) At least one of the accredited food safety certification
examinations shall be offered online.
SEC. 4. Section 113948 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
113948. (a) (1) Subject to the exceptions described in
subdivision (d), a food handler who is hired prior to June 1, 2011,
shall obtain a food handler card from a food protection manager
certification organization described in Section 113947.3 on or before
July 1, 2011. Food handlers hired on or after June 1, 2011, shall
obtain a food handler card within 30 days after the date of hire.
Each food handler shall maintain a valid food handler card for the
duration of his or her employment as a food handler.
(2) Food handler cards shall be valid for three years from the
date of issuance, regardless of whether the food handler changes
employers during that period.
(3) A food handler card shall be recognized throughout the state,
except in jurisdictions described in subdivision (e).
(b) A food handler card shall be issued only upon successful
completion of an approved food handler training course and assessment
that meets at least all of the following requirements:
(1) The course provides basic, introductory instruction on the
elements of knowledge described in subdivisions (a), (b), (c), (d),
(e), and (g) of Section 113947.2.
(2) The course and assessment is designed to be completed within
approximately two and one-half hours.
(3) The assessment consists of at least 40 questions regarding the
required subject matter.
(4) A minimum score of 70 percent on the assessment is required to
successfully complete the assessment.
(c) The food handler training course and assessment may be offered
through a trainer-led class and assessment or self-training and
assessment. For purposes of this section, "self-training and
assessment" means a process where the individual trains, and takes an
assessment, without the presence or intervention of a trainer or
instructor, and includes, but is not limited to, training and
assessment through the use of a computer program or the Internet.
(d) This section shall not apply to a food handler who is employed
by any of the following:
(1) Certified farmer's markets.
(2) Commissaries.
(3) Grocery stores, except for separately owned food facilities to
which this section otherwise applies that are located in the grocery
store. For purposes of this paragraph, "grocery store" means a store
primarily engaged in the retail sale of canned food, dry goods,
fresh fruits and vegetables, and fresh meats, fish, and poultry and
any area that is not separately owned within the store where food is
prepared and served, including a bakery, deli, and meat and seafood
counter. "Grocery store" includes convenience stores.
(4) Licensed health care facilities.
(5) Mobile support units.
(6) Public and private school cafeterias.
(7) Restricted food service facilities.
(8) Retail stores in which a majority of sales are from a
pharmacy, as defined in Section 4037 of the Business and Professions
Code.
(9) A food facility that provides in-house food safety training to
all employees involved in the preparation, storage, or service of
food if all of the following conditions are met:
(A) The food facility uses a training course that has been
approved for use by the food facility in another state that has
adopted the requirements described in Subpart 2-103.11 of the 2001
edition of the model Food Code, not including the April 2004 update,
published by the federal Food and Drug Administration.
(B) Upon request, the food facility provides evidence satisfactory
to the local enforcement officer demonstrating that the food
facility training program has been approved for use in another state
pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(C) The training is provided during normal work hours, and at no
cost to the employee.
(10) A food facility that is subject to a collective bargaining
agreement with its food handlers.
(e) The requirements of this section shall not apply to a food
handler subject to an existing local food handler program that took
effect prior to January 1, 2009.
(f) Each food facility that employs a food handler subject to the
requirements of this section shall maintain records documenting that
each food handler employed by the food facility possesses a valid
food handler card, and shall provide those records to the local
enforcement officer upon request.
(g) At least one food handler training course and assessment shall
cost no more than fifteen dollars ($15), including a food handler
card. If a food handler training course and assessment is not
available at that cost, the requirement to obtain a food handler card
imposed by this section shall not apply.
SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of
Title 2 of the Government Code.
SEC. 6. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure a safer food supply by instituting the food
handler card program at the earliest possible time, it is necessary
for this act to take effect immediately.
