BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 969| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 969 Author: Nguyen (R), et al. Amended: 4/12/16 Vote: 21 SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE: 9-0, 4/6/16 AYES: Hernandez, Nguyen, Hall, Mitchell, Monning, Nielsen, Pan, Roth, Wolk SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 SUBJECT: Vietnamese rice cakes SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill permits a food facility to sell Vietnamese rice cakes, as defined, that have been at room temperature for up to 24 hours, notwithstanding provisions of law that require potentially hazardous foods to either be refrigerated or kept hot. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Establishes the California Retail Food Code (CRFC) to regulate retail food facilities, which is enforced by local environmental health officers. SB 969 Page 2 2)Defines "potentially hazardous food" as a food that requires time or temperature control to limit pathogenic micro-organism growth or toxin formation. 3)Excludes from the definition of "potentially hazardous food" any food that has been shown by appropriate microbial challenge studies approved by the enforcement agency to not support the rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic micro-organisms that may cause food infections. 4)Requires potentially hazardous food to be maintained at or above 135 degrees Fahrenheit, or at or below 41 degrees Fahrenheit. 5)Defines "Korean rice cake" as a confection that contains rice powder, salt, sugar, various edible seeds, oil, dried beans, nuts, dried fruits, and dried pumpkin, but which does not contain any animal fats or any other products derived from animals. 6)Permits a food facility, notwithstanding the requirement that potentially hazardous foods either be kept above or below a certain temperature, to sell Korean rice cakes that have been at room temperature for no more than 24 hours. 7)Permits a food facility, notwithstanding the requirement that potentially hazardous foods either be kept above or below a certain temperature, to sell Asian rice-based noodles that have been at room temperature for no more than four hours. This bill: 1)Permits a food facility to sell Vietnamese rice cakes that have been at no more than 70 degrees Fahrenheit for up to 24 hours, notwithstanding provisions of law that require SB 969 Page 3 potentially hazardous foods to either be refrigerated or kept above 135 degrees Fahrenheit. 2)Specifies that the above provision does not apply to Vietnamese rice cakes that have been determined by the Department of Public Health (DPH) to be non-potentially hazardous foods based on formulation and supporting laboratory documentation submitted to DPH by the manufacturer. 3)Requires Vietnamese rice cakes that have been at no more than 70 degrees Fahrenheit but have been stored for more than 24 hours to be destroyed in a manner approved by the enforcement agency. 4)Requires manufacturers of Vietnamese rice cakes to place a label on the Vietnamese rice cake that indicates the date and time the cooking process was completed, and that includes a statement that the rice cake must be consumed within 24 hours of the date and time printed on the label. 5)Defines a "Vietnamese rice cake," also known as Bánh Tét or Bánh Chung, as a confection that contains a combination of rice, beans, and meat or fruit wrapped tightly in banana leaves for cooking. Defines Bánh Tét as a rice cake in a cylindrical shape, and Bánh Chung as a rice cake in a square shape. The definition specifies the following cooking preparation: a) Requires the Vietnamese rice cake to be prepared using a traditional Vietnamese method that includes cooking by boiling in water for not less than 10 hours; b) Requires the rice cakes to be handled, prepared, and stored under sanitary conditions both when they are kept at no more than 70 degrees Fahrenheit upon completion of cooking and after the rice cakes have been cooled to below SB 969 Page 4 70 degrees Fahrenheit; and, c) Requires any Vietnamese rice cakes that are unwrapped from the banana leaves after cooking to be refrigerated. Comments 1)Author's statement. According to the author, traditional Vietnamese rice cakes are manufactured primarily around the holiday seasons such as Tet. There are generally two forms of rice cakes that can take more than eight hours to cook; one with meat-filling and one with a fruit-filling. Traditionally, families will keep these rice cakes for up to one week before safely consuming, although many will refrigerate them by the end of the day. Due to current requirements established by the DPH and due to the presence of potentially perishable ingredients, Vietnamese rice cakes must be sold refrigerated or frozen. However, it is against tradition to purchase rice cakes that are cold. This stigma prevents traditional Vietnamese rice cakes from being sold year-round in stores without facing citations from health regulators. Additionally, these cakes are often sold for charitable events to raise money during the holidays. This bill allows for Vietnamese rice cakes that are cooked and served according to traditional recipes to be sold at room temperature with appropriate warning labels. 2)DPH report to the Legislature. Pursuant to AB 2214 (Tran, Chapter 610, Statutes of 2006), the DPH was required to conduct a study of the sale and consumption of three traditional Asian foods: Banh Tet, Banh Chung, and Moon Cakes. These products, often consumed at cultural events and during traditional ceremonies, are traditionally held and consumed at room temperature, and enforcement by local jurisdictions to require refrigeration resulted in complaints that the products are unpalatable when refrigerated. AB 2214 required DPH to determine if the products could be safely held at room temperature for longer periods of time. DPH was unable to identify a producer of Banh Tet to provide samples to be analyzed, but did complete laboratory studies of SB 969 Page 5 Banh Chung. According to DPH, when Banh Chung is produced according to the method specified in this bill, and is packaged securely, and is not recontaminated during cooling, packaging, and distributing, the product could be held safely at room temperature for a maximum of 48 hours. However, DPH concluded that the processing and handling conditions that must occur so the product can reasonably be held at ambient temperatures for up to 48 hours will likely prove too elusive to practically implement. For example, DPH stated that it will not be possible for regulatory staff to confirm or determine if Banh Chung products have been subjected to 10 hours of boiling or whether a shorter time period was used given the current equipment and methods used by the industry. Without the ability to confirm critical parameters are met, DPH recommended that Banh Chung not be excluded from being considered a potentially hazardous food. Prior Legislation SB 888 (Yee, Chapter 508, Statutes of 2010) required manufacturers of Asian rice based noodles, as defined, to place a label on the product indicating the date and time of manufacture and include a statement that the noodles must be consumed within four hours of manufacture. SB 144 (Runner, Chapter 23, Statutes of 2006) established the CRFC in order to create uniformity between California's retail food safety laws and those of other states, as well as to enhance food safety laws based on the best available science. AB 2214 (Tran, Chapter 610, Statutes of 2006) required DPH to conduct a study on the effects of retail food facility health and sanitation standards on the sale and consumption of traditional Asian food. AB 187 (Liu, Chapter 204, Statutes of 2001) permitted retail food facilities to sell Korean rice cakes, as defined, that have been at room temperature for less than 24 hours, and required manufacturers of Korean rice cakes to provide a date stamp indicating the date of manufacture and a warning label that the rice cake must be consumed within one day of manufacture. SB 969 Page 6 FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes SUPPORT: (Verified4/27/16) Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association City of Fountain Valley City of Garden Grove City of San Jose City of Santa Ana City of Westminster Southeast Asia Resource Action Center OPPOSITION: (Verified4/27/16) None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: This bill is supported by the Cities of Santa Ana, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove and Westminster, which all state that this bill ensures that Vietnamese rice cakes may be sold in their traditional manner without compromising food safety. The City of San Jose states that the current requirements put too much burden and restrictions on the rice cakes, and that while these regulations are intended to keep people safe, the cakes have proven to not be harmful thanks to the traditional wrapping and cooking techniques. This bill is also supported by the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC), which states that Asian-owned businesses make up 17% of businesses in California, and Vietnamese-owned businesses are the second largest within the Asian American community. SEARAC states that legislation such as this bill ensures California is respectful of culturally-specific businesses within California's diverse community. SB 969 Page 7 Prepared by: Vince Marchand / HEALTH / 4/28/16 14:19:10 **** END ****