CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1830

Introduced by Assembly Member Arambula

January 12, 2024

An act to add Section 110531 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to food.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1830, as introduced, Arambula. Corn masa flour: folic acid fortification.
Existing federal law, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the regulations adopted pursuant to that act, authorizes folic acid to be used in food as a nutrient in accordance with specified prescribed conditions, including that folic acid may be added to corn masa flour at a level not to exceed 0.7 milligrams of folic acid per pound of corn masa flour. Existing federal law also requires any state requirement for nutrition labeling of food to conform with federal law, and requires the declaration of folic acid to be included when added as a nutrient supplement, as specified.
Existing state law, the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, provides for the regulation of various subjects relating to the processing, labeling, advertising, and sale of food, drugs, and cosmetics, including enriched food, under the administration and enforcement of the State Department of Public Health. Existing law provides that all food additive and food labeling regulations and any amendments to those regulations adopted pursuant to the federal law are the regulations of this state, and authorizes the department to prescribe conditions under which a food additive may be used in this state whether or not these conditions are in accordance with the regulations adopted pursuant to the federal act and to adopt additional food labeling regulations. A violation of these provisions is a crime.
This bill would require the department, by regulation, to require a manufacturer of corn masa flour to add folic acid at a level not to exceed 0.7 milligrams of folic acid per pound of corn masa flour and to include a declaration of folic acid on the nutrition label in accordance with applicable federal law. The bill would make these provisions severable. By creating a new crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Latino communities face a disproportionately higher risk of neural tube defects (NTDs), which are severe birth defects that occur in early pregnancy.
(b) NTDs include spina bifida, which is an opening along the spine, and anencephaly, which is a missing portion of the brain or skull. Individuals with spina bifida can experience symptoms ranging from mild nerve damage to severe paraplegia, often requiring costly and lengthy treatment. Anencephaly is fatal for infants.
(c) Daily consumption of folic acid has been shown to decrease the risk of NTDs by more than half. In 1998, the United States Food and Drug Administration mandated folic acid fortification of all enriched cereal grain products to provide a baseline level of folic acid to the public, which resulted in a 35 percent decrease in the occurrence of NTDs.
(d) While the American diet often relies heavily on wheat, many Central and South American cuisines depend on corn masa flour as a staple. Corn masa flour was omitted from the 1998 mandate without justification. The higher rate of NTDs in Latino communities is a symptom in the broader disease of health inequity.
(e) In 2016, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved voluntary folic acid fortification of corn masa flour. Because this policy is reliant on the industry’s initiative, only 10 percent of corn masa flour products are fortified with folic acid in the United States.
(f) Mandatory folic acid fortification of corn masa flour can lower the rate of NTDs, saving lives and dollars.

SEC. 2.

 Section 110531 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

110531.
 (a) The department shall, by regulation, require a manufacturer of corn masa flour to add folic acid at a level not to exceed 0.7 milligrams of folic acid per pound of corn masa flour.
(b) The department shall, by regulation, require a manufacturer of corn masa flour to include a declaration of folic acid on the nutrition label in accordance with applicable federal law, including, but not limited to, Section 101.9 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(c) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of this section 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.

SEC. 3.

 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.