Bill Text: CA AB1532 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Chaptered

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Bill Title: Food facilities: food safety: employee knowledge.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-07-30 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 131, Statutes of 2019. [AB1532 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB1532-Chaptered.html

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Assembly Bill No. 1532

CHAPTER 131

An act to amend Section 113948 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to food facilities.

[ Approved by Governor  July 30, 2019. Filed with Secretary of State  July 30, 2019. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1532, Bauer-Kahan. Food facilities: food safety: employee knowledge.

Existing law, the California Retail Food Code, establishes uniform health and sanitation standards for, and provides for regulation by the State Department of Public Health of, retail food facilities, and requires local health agencies to enforce these provisions. Existing law makes a person who violates a provision of the code guilty of a misdemeanor. Existing law requires a food handler to obtain a food handler card from a specified training provider after completing a food handler training course and examination that covers specified topics, including foodborne illness and food contamination. Existing law exempts from those requirements food handlers who are employed by certain facilities, including public and private school cafeterias.

This bill would provide that the food handler card requirements described above apply to food handlers who are employed by a food facility or an organized camp, as defined, that is subject to the California Retail Food Code. The bill would also require, by January 1, 2021, that the food handler training course described above include instruction relating to major food allergens and symptoms of allergic reactions, as specified.

By expanding the scope of existing crimes and by imposing new duties on local health 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.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Natalie Giorgi Sunshine Act.

SEC. 2.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) As many as 15,000,000 people in the United States have a food allergy.

(b) Research indicates the prevalence of food allergies is increasing among children. Nearly 6,000,000 children under 18 years of age have a food allergy.

(c) The eight foods that cause the majority of all food allergy reactions in the United States are fish, shellfish, milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, soy, and wheat.

(d) Symptoms of a food allergy reaction include hives, vomiting, diarrhea, respiratory distress, and swelling of the throat. Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic reaction that is rapid in onset and may cause death.

(e) According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food allergies result in more than 200,000 ambulatory care visits a year involving children under 18 years of age. The number of food allergy reactions requiring emergency treatment has sharply increased over the last decade, with a 377-percent rise in individuals receiving medical treatment for anaphylaxis. Reactions typically occur when an individual unknowingly eats a food containing an ingredient to which the individual is allergic.

(f) On July 27, 2013, Natalie Marie Giorgi tragically passed away at 13 years of age from a severe allergic reaction to peanuts while attending camp.

(g) There is no cure for food allergies and scientists do not understand why allergies occur. Strict avoidance of the offending food is the only way to prevent an allergic reaction.

SEC. 3.

 Section 113948 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

113948.

 (a) (1) Subject to the exceptions described in subdivision (e), a food handler who is hired prior to June 1, 2011, shall obtain a food handler card on or before July 1, 2011. Subject to the exceptions described in subdivision (e), a food handler who is 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 the food handler’s 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 (f).

(b) (1) Prior to January 1, 2012, a food handler may obtain a food handler card from either one of the following:

(A) An American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited training provider that meets ASTM International E2659-09 Standard Practice for Certificate Programs.

(B) A food protection manager certification organization described in Section 113947.3.

(2) Commencing January 1, 2012, a food handler shall obtain a food handler card only from an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited training provider that meets ASTM International E2659-09 Standard Practice for Certificate Programs.

(3) A food handler card shall be issued only upon successful completion of a food handler training course and examination that meets at least all of the following requirements:

(A) (i) 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.

(ii) On or before January 1, 2021, the course shall include instruction on both of the following:

(I) The elements of knowledge described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 113947 that are consistent with recommendations from a nationally organized allergy organization.

(II) Safe handling food practices for major food allergens, as defined in Section 113820.5, as they relate to food preparation activities that occur at a food facility, including, but not limited to, training on the avoidance of allergen cross-contamination.

(B) The course and examination is designed to be completed within approximately two and one-half hours.

(C) The examination consists of at least 40 questions regarding the required subject matter.

(D) A minimum score of 70 percent on the examination is required to successfully complete the examination.

(c) The food handler training course and examination may be offered through a trainer-led class and examination, through the use of a computer program or the internet, or through a combination of a trainer-led class and the use of a computer program or the internet. The use of a computer program or the internet shall have sufficient security channels and procedures to guard against fraudulent activity. However, this subdivision shall not be construed to require the presence or participation of a proctor during a food handler training course examination that is provided through a computer program or the internet.

(d) This section shall apply to a food handler who is employed by a food facility, as defined in Section 113790, or an organized camp, as defined in Section 18897, consistent with Section 30730 of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations.

(e) 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, and venues with snack bar service in which the majority of sales are from admission tickets, but excluding any area in which restaurant-style sit-down service is provided.

(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 thehandler employed by the food facility possesses a valid food handler card, and shall provide those records to the local enforcement officer upon request.

(h) At least one food handler training course and examination shall cost no more than fifteen dollars ($15), including a food handler card. If a food handler training course and examination is not available at that cost, the requirement to obtain a food handler card imposed by this section shall not apply.

SEC. 4.

 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.