Bill Text: CA AB1437 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Medically important antimicrobials: livestock and poultry.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-04-30 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB1437 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB1437-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1437 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Mullin
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Gordon and Ting )
( Coauthors: Senators Evans
and Jackson )
JANUARY 6, 2014
An act to amend Sections 14200, 14203, 14289, and 14381
of, to add Sections 14203.5, 14207.3, 14207.5, 14207.7, 14220, 14297,
and 14366 to, and to add Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 14335)
and Article 5.6 (commencing with Section 14340) to Chapter 4 of
Division 7 of, add Chapter 4.6 (commencing with
Section 19060) to Part 3 of Division 9 of the Food and
Agriculture Code, relating to livestock drugs.
medically important antimicrobials.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1437, as amended, Mullin. Medically important antimicrobials:
nontherapeutic use. livestock and poultry.
Under existing law, the Department of Food and Agriculture is
responsible for enforcing provisions relating to the importation of
animals, milk and milk products, produce dealers, and other
agricultural regulations. Existing law, the California Meat and
Poultry Inspection Act, establishes a meat and poultry inspection
program and, in connection with the operation of that program by the
department, authorizes the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to
adopt, by regulation, standards and requirements that meet those
prescribed by the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Federal Poultry
Products Inspection Act.
This bill would prohibit a livestock or poultry product from being
sold in California if the livestock or poultry product is
constituted of livestock or poultry that was administered a medically
important antimicrobial for nontherapeutic use, such as growth
promotion, feed efficiency, weight gain, or disease prevention. The
bill would also prohibit a livestock or poultry product sold in
California to be constituted of livestock or poultry that was
administered a medically important antimicrobial for nonroutine
disease control unless certain conditions are met. The bill would
prohibit a livestock or poultry product from being sold in California
unless the livestock or poultry product is constituted wholly or in
part of livestock or poultry that was slaughtered at a registered
slaughter facility and the slaughter facility annually reports
specified information to the department regarding the use of
medically important antimicrobials. The bill would also prohibit a
medically important antimicrobial from being administered to a
food-producing animal unless the medically important antimicrobial is
administered for a therapeutic use and consistently with specified
veterinarian provisions. The bill would require the department to
establish, by regulation, a schedule for the implementation of these
provisions and require that they be fully implemented on or before on
January 1, 2020. The bill would require the department to post the
information reported by the slaughter facilities on an Internet Web
site commencing on or before December 31, 2017.
This bill would require the department to adopt any regulations
necessary to implement the provisions of the bill.
Existing law requires the manufacturer of a livestock drug,
including a restricted drug, as defined, to register with the
Director of Food and Agriculture and requires the director to refuse
to register the drug if he or she makes specified findings. Under
existing law it is unlawful, among other things, to use or administer
any registered livestock drug, except in accordance with the label
instructions, as specified, and makes an initial violation of these
provisions subject to an infraction and, for subsequent violations, a
misdemeanor.
This bill, as of January 1, 2017, would redefine "restricted drug"
to also include a livestock drug that is recognized by either the
Center for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health
Organization to increase the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant
bacteria, as specified. The bill would prohibit registration of a
restricted drug if the director finds that the restricted drug poses
a risk to public health through the increased prevalence of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The bill would also authorize the
director to revoke the registration of a medically important
antimicrobial, as defined, for use in livestock if he or she finds
that the drug threatens the public health by increasing the
prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The bill would prohibit the administration of a medically
important antimicrobial to a food-producing animal for nonroutine
disease control unless certain conditions are met. By prohibiting the
administration of a medically important antimicrobial, this bill
would create a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local
program. The bill would also require a livestock producer that does
administer a medically important antimicrobial to a food-producing
animal to annually report specified information to the director
relating to the administration of the medically important
antimicrobial and would make the failure to make that report an
infraction subject to specified penalties. The bill would require the
department post this information on an Internet Web site.
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 no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature find and declare all of the following:
(a) In 1977, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
concluded that feeding livestock low doses of antibiotics
that from antibiotic classes that are used in
human disease treatment could promote the development of
antibiotic-resistance in bacteria and pose a risk to human
health . The FDA, however, did not act in response to these
findings, despite laws requiring the agency to do so.
(b) The FDA has promulgated issued
voluntary regulations guidance in December
2013 on the nontherapeutic use of antibiotics, however
these guidelines are this guidance is unlikely
to significantly reduce the nontherapeutic use of antibiotics in
livestock because of a broad exemption allowing for the use of
antibiotics for disease prevention .
(c) Not only do antibiotic-resistant bacteria affect the health of
our society, but they also have a monetary impact. In 1998, the
National Academy of Sciences noted that antibiotic-resistant bacteria
generate a minimum of four to five billion dollars in costs to
United States society and individuals every year. In 2009, in a
study funded by the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Cook County Hospital and Alliance for Prudent Use of
Antibiotics estimated that the total health care cost of
antibiotic-resistant infections in the United States was between
$16.6 billion and $26 billion annually. Societal costs from lost
productivity due to illnesses were estimated to be an additional $35
billion.
(d) In April 1999, the United States Government Accountability
Office conducted a study concluding that three strains of
microorganisms that cause foodborne illnesses or disease in humans
are resistant to antibiotics and are linked to the use of antibiotics
in animals. These microorganisms are salmonella, Campylobacter, and
E. Coli.
(e) In 1999, 2011, and 2006, 2006, and
2011, the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service conducted large-scale, voluntary
surveys that revealed all of the following:
(1) Eighty-four percent of grower and finisher swine farms, 83
percent of cattle feedlots, and 84 percent of sheep farms administer
antimicrobials in feed or water for either health or growth promotion
reasons.
(2) Many of the antimicrobials that were identified were identical
or closely related to drugs used in human medicine, including
tetracyclines, macrolides, bacitracin, penicillins, and sulfonamides.
(3) These drugs are used in people to treat serious diseases, such
as pneumonia, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, sexually transmitted
infections, and skin infections; pandemics such as malaria and
plague; and bioterrorism agents such as anthrax.
(f) Overuse or misuse of antibiotics contributes to the spread of
antibiotic resistance, whether in human medicine or in agriculture.
(g)
(f) In June 2002, the peer-reviewed journal, "Clinical
Infectious Diseases," published a report based on a two-year review,
by experts in human and veterinary medicine, public health,
microbiology, biostatistics, and risk analysis, of more than 500
scientific studies on the human health impacts of antimicrobial use
in agriculture. The report recommended that antimicrobial agents
should not be used in agriculture in the absence of disease and
should be limited to therapy for diseased individual animals or
prophylaxis when disease is documented in a herd or flock.
(h)
(g) In a March 2003 report, the National Academy of
Sciences stated that a decrease in antimicrobial use in human
medicine alone will have little effect on the rise in
antibiotic-resistant bacteria and that substantial efforts must be
made to decrease the inappropriate overuse of antimicrobials in
animals and agriculture.
(i)
(h) In 2010, the peer-reviewed journal, "Molecular
Cell," published a study demonstrating that a low-dosage use of
antibiotics causes a dramatic increase in genetic mutation, raising
new concerns about the agricultural practice of using low-dosage
antibiotics in order to stimulate growth promotion and routinely
prevent disease in unhealthy conditions.
(j)
(i) In 2010, the Danish Veterinary and Food
Administration testified that the Danish ban of the nontherapeutic
use of antibiotics in food animal production resulted in a marked
reduction in antimicrobial resistance in multiple bacterial species,
including Campylobacter and Enterococci.
(k)
(j) In 2011, the FDA found that in 2010:
(1) Thirteen million five hundred thousand kilograms of
antibacterial drugs were sold for use on food animals in the United
States.
(2) Three million three hundred thousand kilograms of
antibacterial drugs were used for human health.
(3) Eighty percent of antibacterial drugs
drugs, and over 70 percent of medically important antibacterial
drugs, disseminated in the United States were sold for use on
food-producing animals, rather than being used for human health.
(l)
(k) In 2011, a review of all scientific studies on
antimicrobial use in farm animals, published in Clinical Microbiology
Reviews, found the following:
(1) The That the use of antibiotics
in food-producing animals leads to the development of reservoirs of
antibiotic resistance. resistance, that
antibiotic-resistant bacteria can spread through food, water, air,
soil, and meat-industry workers, and that bacteria can share
resistance genes with each other.
(2) A ban on nontherapeutic antibiotic use in food-producing
animals would preserve the use of antibiotics for medicine.
(3) A Danish ban on nontherapeutic antibiotics in food-producing
animals resulted in little change in animal morbidity and mortality,
and only a modest increase in production cost.
(l) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
concluded in a recent report, "Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the
United States, 2013," that overuse or misuse of antibiotics
contributes to the spread of antibiotic resistance, whether in human
medicine or in agriculture. The CDC estimated that antibiotic
resistance causes at least 23,000 deaths and two million illnesses
every year.
(m) In 2013, the peer-reviewed journal, "The Journal of the
American Medical Association," published a study showing higher
levels of antibiotic-resistant skin and soft-tissue infections in
people living in proximity to hog farms or fields treated with swine
manure in Pennsylvania. Similarly, in 2014, the peer-reviewed
journal, "Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology," published a
study focused on hospitalized veterans in rural areas of Iowa,
finding that people living in close proximity to a swine-feeding
operation were nearly three times as likely to have been affected by
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at the time of
admission to the hospital.
(m)
(n) The FDA's National Antimicrobial Resistance
Monitoring System routinely finds that retail meat products are
contaminated with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics that are
important to human medicine.
(n)
(o) According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, "
t]he largest nonhuman use of antimicrobial agents is in
food-producing animal production, and most of this is in healthy
animals to increase growth or prevent diseases. Evidence now exists
that these uses of antimicrobial agents in food-producing animals
have a direct negative impact on human health and multiple impacts on
the selection and dissemination of resistance genes in animals and
the environment. Children are at increased risk of acquiring many of
these infections with resistant bacteria and are at great risk of
severe complications if they become infected."
(o)
(p) Many scientific studies confirm that the
nontherapeutic use of antibiotics in food-producing animals
contributes to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacterial
infections in people.
(q) The spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses a risk to
the health of Californians and reduced use of antibiotics for
livestock production is likely to reduce the risks of the rise and
spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria through food and other
pathways, thus reducing the risk to Californians.
SEC. 2. Section 14200 of the Food and
Agricultural Code is amended to read:
14200. (a) The Legislature hereby declares that this chapter,
which prescribes the distribution and use of livestock drugs, is
intended to assure that the drugs are available to livestock
producers for their use in protecting the health of the livestock
population of the state, and that the use will in turn benefit the
general public by providing an abundant supply of wholesome food and
fiber.
(b) It is further declared that nothing in this chapter is
intended to prevent a livestock producer from administering livestock
drugs safely and effectively when the use is in accordance with the
labeling directions for the drug used and when the use protects
public health.
SEC. 3. Section 14203 of the Food and
Agricultural Code is amended to read:
14203. (a) "Restricted drug" means either of the following:
(1) A livestock drug which is sold in a form that it might be
administered to a person and, if so administered, would be dangerous
to the health of the person.
(2) A livestock drug that if improperly administered, as defined
in Section 14203.5, to livestock, is dangerous to the health of the
livestock or to persons who consume products from the livestock.
(3) A livestock drug that is recognized by either the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health
Organization to increase the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant
bacteria.
(b) Restricted drugs include all of the following:
(1) Arsenic compounds and preparations.
(2) Diethylstilbestrol and other substances which have a
hormonelike action.
(3) Sulfanilamide or substitute sulfanilamides.
(4) Antibiotic preparations.
(5) A drug from an antimicrobial class that is listed as "highly
important," "critically important," or "important" by the World
Health Organization's "Critically Important Antimicrobial for Human
Medicine," as updated by the World Health Organization, or its
successor publication, unless the drug is used for therapeutic use,
as defined in Section 14220.
(6) Other drugs and their preparations that the director
determines are hazardous to the health of livestock or the public
safety.
SEC. 4. Section 14203.5 is added to the Food
and Agricultural Code, to read:
14203.5. "Improperly administered" means either of the following:
(a) Administration of a medically important antimicrobial to a
food-producing animal through either feed or water, or for purposes
of poultry hatcheries through any means, for purposes other than
therapeutic use, such as growth promotion, feed efficiency, weight
gain, disease prevention, or nonroutine disease control.
(b) A repeated or regular pattern of administration of a medically
important antimicrobial in food-producing animals for purposes other
than therapeutic use or nonroutine disease control.
SEC. 5. Section 14207.3 is added to the Food
and Agricultural Code, to read:
14207.3. "Medically important antimicrobial" means a drug that is
both of the following:
(a) Intended for use in food-producing animals.
(b) Composed wholly or partly of either of the following:
(1) Any kind of penicillin, tetracycline, macrolide, lincosamide,
streptogramin, aminoglycoside, sulfonamide, or cephalosporin.
(2) A drug from an antimicrobial class that is listed as either
"highly important," "critically important," or "important" by the
World Health Organization's "Critically Important Antimicrobial for
Human Medicine," as updated by the World Health Organization, or its
successor publication.
SEC. 6. Section 14207.5 is added to the Food
and Agricultural Code, to read:
14207.5. "Noncustomary situation" means a situation that does not
include normal or standard practices and conditions on the premises
that facilitate the transmission of disease.
SEC. 7. Section 14207.7 is added to the Food
and Agricultural Code, to read:
14207.7. "Nonroutine disease control" means the use of
antimicrobials in the feed or water of a food-producing animal that
is not sick, and where a particular disease or infection is, or is
likely to be, present on the premises because of a specific,
noncustomary situation.
SEC. 8. Section 14220 is added to the Food and
Agricultural Code, to read:
14220. "Therapeutic use," with respect to a medically important
antimicrobial, means the use of the antimicrobial for the specific
purpose of treating an animal with a documented disease or infection.
Therapeutic use does not include the continued use of the
antimicrobial in the animal after the disease or infection has been
resolved.
SEC. 9. Section 14289 of the Food and
Agricultural Code is amended to read:
14289. If the livestock drug is a restricted drug, the director
shall also refuse registration if he or she finds that the
instructions for use do not contain adequate and satisfactory
directions as to the methods of handling, caring for, holding, or
otherwise managing the livestock to which the drug is administered so
as to eliminate any danger to the health of any person who might
consume food products that are derived from that livestock or if he
or she finds that the restricted drug poses a risk to public health
by increasing the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
SEC. 10. Section 14297 is added to the Food and
Agricultural Code, to read:
14297. The director may revoke the registration of a medically
important antimicrobial for use in livestock if he or she finds that
the drug as used poses a risk to the public health by increasing the
prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
SEC. 11. Article 5.5 (commencing with Section
14335) is added to Chapter 4 of Division 7 of the Food and
Agricultural Code, to read:
Article 5.5. Use of Medically Important Antimicrobials
14335. (a) A person who administers or causes to be administered
a medically important antimicrobial to a food-producing animal shall
have a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship with a
veterinarian to ensure that the medically important antimicrobial is
used in a manner that is consistent with professionally accepted best
practices.
(b) For purposes of this section, "veterinarian-client-patient
relationship" means a relationship in which all of the following are
met:
(1) The veterinarian has assumed the responsibility for making
medical judgments regarding the health of the animal-patient, and the
client has agreed to follow the veterinarian's instructions.
(2) The veterinarian has sufficient knowledge of the
animal-patient to initiate at least a general or preliminary
diagnosis of the medical condition of the animal-patient.
(3) The veterinarian is readily available for follow-up
evaluation, or has arranged for veterinary emergency coverage, and
continuing care and treatment.
(4) The veterinarian provides oversight of treatment, compliance,
and outcome of the administration of the medically important
antimicrobial.
(5) Animal-patient records are maintained.
(c) For purposes of this section, "sufficient knowledge" means the
veterinarian is personally acquainted with the keeping and care of
the animal-patient by virtue of either of the following:
(1) A timely examination of the animal-patient by the
veterinarian.
(2) Medically appropriate and timely visits by the veterinarian to
the premises where the animal-patient is kept.
14336. (a) If a livestock producer administers or causes to be
administered a medically important antimicrobial to a food-producing
animal, the producer, or the contracted entity, shall annually report
to the director the following information on a schedule and in a
format specified by the director:
(1) The total number of food-producing animals given a medically
important antimicrobial in their feed.
(2) The type of medically important antimicrobial administered.
(3) The total amount of each medically important antimicrobial
used.
(4) The target food-producing animal species that were
administered the medically important antimicrobial.
(5) The length of time over which the medically important
antimicrobial was intended to be provided to the food-producing
animals and the dose of the active medically important antimicrobial
ingredient the food-producing animals were intended to receive.
(6) The purpose for administering the medically important
antimicrobial to a food-producing animal. The purpose shall be
categorized in a manner determined by the director and shall include,
at a minimum, the following categories:
(A) Growth promotion.
(B) Disease prevention.
(C) Disease control.
(D) Disease treatment.
(7) The type of disease or infection to be treated by the
medically important antimicrobial, if applicable.
(8) The name of the processor, as defined in Section 20019, where
the livestock product will be processed.
(b) On or before December 31, 2017, the department shall develop
and make operational a consumer-friendly, publicly accessible
Internet Web site that creates a database of the information
collected pursuant to this section. The database shall be searchable
and able to accommodate a wide range of users, including users with
limited technical and scientific literacy. The Internet Web site
shall be designed to be easily navigable and to enable users to
compare and contrast livestock producers and the reported usage of
medically important antimicrobials.
SEC. 12. Article 5.6 (commencing with Section
14340) is added to Chapter 4 of Division 7 of the Food and
Agricultural Code, to read:
Article 5.6. Nontherapeutic Use of Medically Important
Antimicrobials
14340. This article shall apply to the nontherapeutic use in a
food-producing animal of a drug that is a medically important
antimicrobial and is either of the following:
(a) A registered drug.
(b) A drug exempted under Article 3 (commencing with Section
14261).
14341. The registration or exemption of a drug subject to this
article shall be ineffective on and after January 1, 2017, unless the
director makes a final written determination that there is, with
reasonable certainty, no harm to human health due to the development
of antimicrobial resistance that is attributable in whole or in part
to the nontherapeutic use of the drug, based on one of the following:
(a) The holder of the registration or exemption has demonstrated
this fact.
(b) A risk analysis of the drug, taking into consideration other
relevant information, conducted by the director.
SEC. 13. Section 14366 is added to the Food and
Agricultural Code, to read:
14366. It is unlawful to administer, including through means of
feed, a medically important antimicrobial to a food-producing animal
for nonroutine disease control, unless either of the following apply:
(a) The director determines, with reasonable certainty, that there
is no harm to human health due to the development of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria that is attributable in whole or in
part to the use of the medically important antimicrobial and the use
does not threaten public health.
(b) All of the following conditions are met:
(1) There is a significant risk that a disease or infection that
is present on, or is likely to be present on, the premises will be
transmitted to the food-producing animal.
(2) The administration of the medically important antimicrobial to
the food-producing animal is necessary to prevent or reduce the risk
of transmission of the disease or infection.
(3) The medically important antimicrobial is administered to the
food-producing animal for the shortest duration possible to prevent
or reduce the risk of transmission of the disease or infection.
(4) The medically important antimicrobial is administered to the
fewest food-producing animals possible in order to prevent or reduce
the risk of transmission of the disease or infection.
SEC. 14. Section 14381 of the Food and
Agricultural Code is amended to read:
14381. (a) Except as provided for in subdivision (b), a
violation of this chapter or of any regulation that is adopted by the
director pursuant to this chapter is an infraction punishable by a
fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) for the first
violation. A second or subsequent violation of this chapter is a
misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars
($100) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(b) A violation of the reporting requirement in Section 14336 or
of any regulation that is adopted by the director pursuant to that
section is an infraction punishable by a fine of one hundred dollars
($100) for the first violation. A second or subsequent violation is
an infraction punishable by a fine of not less than two hundred
dollars ($200) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
SEC. 15. This act shall become operative on
January 1, 2017.
SEC. 16. No reimbursement is required by this
act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because 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.
SEC. 2. Chapter 4.6 (commencing with Section
19060) is added to Part 3 of Division 9 of the Food and
Agricultural Code , to read:
CHAPTER 4.6. MEDICALLY IMPORTANT ANTIMICROBIALS IN MEAT AND
POULTRY
Article 1. Definitions
19060. "Department" means the Department of Food and Agriculture.
19061. "Director" means the Director of Food and Agriculture.
19062. "Exempt producer" means an owner of livestock or poultry
that raises less than 250 animals per year or 10,000 birds per year.
19063. (a) "Medically important antimicrobial" means a drug that
is both of the following:
(1) Intended for use in food-producing animals.
(2) Composed wholly or partly of a drug from an antimicrobial
class that is listed as either "highly important," "critically
important," or "important" by the United States Food and Drug
Administration's Guidance for Industry #152, Appendix A, as updated
by the United States Food and Drug Administration, or its successor
publication.
(b) Medically important antimicrobial includes, but is not limited
to, penicillin, tetracycline, macrolide, lincosamide, streptogramin,
aminoglycoside, sulfonamide, or cephalosporin.
19064. "Noncustomary situation" means a situation that does not
include normal or standard practices and conditions on the premises
that facilitates the transmission of disease.
19065. "Nonroutine disease control" means the use of
antimicrobials in the feed or water of a food-producing animal that
is not sick, and where a particular disease or infection is, or is
likely to be, present on the premises because of a specific,
noncustomary situation.
19066. "Nontherapeutic use" means either of the following:
(a) The one-time administration of a medically important
antimicrobial to a food-producing animal through feed or water, or,
for purposes of poultry hatcheries, through any means, for purposes
such as growth promotion, feed efficiency, weight gain, or disease
prevention, other than therapeutic use or nonroutine disease control.
(b) Any repeated or regular pattern of administration of a
medically important antimicrobial to food-producing animals for
purposes other than therapeutic use or nonroutine disease control.
19067. "Therapeutic use," with respect to a medically important
antimicrobial, means use for the specific purpose of treating an
animal with a documented disease or infection. Therapeutic use does
not include the continued use after the disease or infection has been
resolved.
Article 2. General Provisions
19070. (a) (1) A livestock or poultry product sold in California
shall not be constituted wholly or in part of livestock or poultry
that was administered a medically important antimicrobial for a
nontherapeutic use.
(2) A meat or poultry product that is not constituted wholly or in
part of livestock or poultry that was administered a medically
important antimicrobial for nontherapeutic use may be marketed with
the claim, "Raised with minimal antibiotics under California law."
(b) This section shall be implemented according to schedule
adopted by the department as provided in Section 19074, and shall
apply to all livestock and poultry products sold in California on and
after January 1, 2020.
19071. (a) (1) A livestock or poultry product sold in California
shall not be constituted wholly or in part of livestock or poultry
that was administered a medically important antimicrobial for
nonroutine disease control unless all of the following conditions are
met:
(A) There was a significant risk that a disease or infection that
was present on, or was likely to be present on, the premises would be
transmitted to the food-producing animal.
(B) The administration of the medically important antimicrobial to
the food-producing animal was necessary to prevent or reduce the
risk of transmission of the disease or infection.
(C) The medically important antimicrobial was administered to the
food-producing animal for the shortest duration possible to prevent
or reduce the risk of transmission of the disease or infection.
(D) The medically important antimicrobial was administered to the
fewest food-producing animals possible in order to prevent or reduce
the risk of transmission of the disease or infection.
(2) A producer, other than exempt producer, shall maintain
records, including prescriptions or veterinary feed directives,
documenting the use and reasons for the use of antibiotics for
nonroutine disease control. The records shall be kept for five years.
(b) This section shall be implemented according to schedule
adopted by the department as provided in Section 19074, and shall
apply to all livestock and poultry products sold in California on and
after January 1, 2020.
19072. (a) A livestock or poultry product shall not be sold in
California unless the livestock or poultry product is constituted of
livestock or poultry that was slaughtered at a slaughter facility
that is registered with the department and that annually reports all
of the information specified in Section 19080.
(b) This section shall be implemented according to schedule
adopted by the department as provided in Section 19074, and shall
apply to all livestock and poultry products sold in California on and
after January 1, 2020.
19073. (a) A medically important antimicrobial shall not be
administered to a food-producing animal unless both of the following
conditions are met:
(1) The administration of the medically important antimicrobial is
for a therapeutic use.
(2) The medically important antimicrobial is administered by, or
caused to be administered by, a veterinarian, licensed pursuant to
Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 4800) of Division 2 of the
Business and Professions Code, as part of a valid
veterinarian-client-patient relationship in accordance with Sections
2032.1 and 2032.15 of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations,
as those sections existed on January 1, 2015.
(b) As provided in Section 19074, this section shall become
operative on January 1, 2020.
19074. The department shall by regulation establish a schedule to
phase in implementation of the requirements imposed by this article.
Those requirements shall be fully implemented on or before January
1, 2020.
Article 3. Reporting Requirements
19080. (a) A slaughter facility shall annually report to the
director all of the following information, according to the target
food-producing animal species and production class of the
food-producing animal, on a schedule and in the format specified by
the director:
(1) The total number of food-producing animals given a medically
important antimicrobial in their feed or water, or, for purposes of
poultry hatcheries, through any means.
(2) The type of medically important antimicrobial administered.
(3) The total amount of each medically important antimicrobial
used.
(4) The total number of days over which the medically important
antimicrobial was intended to be provided to the food-producing
animals and the dosage of the active medically important
antimicrobial given to the food-producing animals. The dosage shall
be listed by the total milligrams of antibiotic used per animal per
day or the total milliliters of the antibiotic solution used per
animal per day and label concentration.
(5) Whether the purpose for administering the medically important
antimicrobial was for therapeutic or nontherapeutic use. The purpose
shall be categorized in a manner determined by the director and shall
include, at a minimum, the following categories:
(A) Growth promotion.
(B) Disease prevention.
(C) Disease treatment.
(D) Other information that may be deemed necessary or important by
the director, producer, or slaughter facility.
(6) The type of disease or infection to be treated or addressed by
the medically important antimicrobial.
(7) The owners of the livestock or poultry. "Owners of the
livestock or poultry" for purposes of this paragraph, means a person
who either has an ownership interest in the animals or birds or
otherwise establishes management and production standards for the
maintenance, care, and raising of the animals or birds. An ownership
interest includes a right or option to purchase the animals or birds
for maintenance, care, or raising.
(8) The owner of the slaughter facility. "Owner of the slaughter
facility" for purposes of this paragraph, means a person who either
has an ownership interest in the facility or otherwise establishes
management and production standards for the facility. An ownership
interest of a slaughter facility includes a right or option to
purchase the animal or poultry to be processed by the slaughter
facility.
(b) The slaughter facility shall not be required to report the
information required under this subdivision for an exempt producer.
19081. On or before December 31, 2017, the department shall
develop and make operational a consumer-friendly, publicly accessible
Internet Web site that contains a database of the information
collected pursuant to this article. The database shall be searchable
and able to accommodate a wide range of users, including users with
limited technical and scientific literacy. The Internet Web site
shall be designed to be easily navigable and enable users to compare
and contrast the reported usage of medically important antimicrobials
between animal species and other parameters. The department may send
a copy of this information to the State Department of Public Health.
Article 4. Violations
19090. (a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a violation
of this chapter or of any regulation adopted by the director
pursuant to this chapter is subject to a civil penalty of not more
than five hundred dollars ($500) for the first violation. A second
violation of this chapter is subject to a civil penalty of not less
than five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000). A third or subsequent violation of this chapter is
subject to a civil penalty of not less than three hundred dollars
($300) and not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000). Civil
penalties for violations shall be imposed on the owner of the
slaughter facility at which the animals or birds are slaughtered.
(2) An owner of a slaughter facility shall not be subject to a
civil penalty under this subdivision if the owner made a good faith
effort to ensure that livestock or poultry products sold in this
state made from livestock or poultry slaughtered at his or her
facility were in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
(b) A violation of the reporting requirement in Section 19081 or
of any regulation that is adopted by the director pursuant to that
section is subject to a civil penalty of one hundred dollars ($100)
for the first violation. A second or subsequent violation is subject
to a civil penalty of not less than two hundred dollars ($200) and
not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). Civil penalties for
violations shall be imposed on the owner of the slaughter facility.
(c) Moneys collected pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited
into the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, to be available to
the department upon appropriation for purposes of carrying out this
chapter.
Article 5. Implementation
19100. The department shall adopt any regulations necessary to
implement the provisions of this chapter, including those regulations
necessary to phase in the requirements of Article 2 (commencing with
Section 19070), as provided in Section 19074.
19101. The provisions of this chapter are severable. If any
provision of this chapter or its application is held invalid, that
invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
