The existing Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law establishes requirements for the identification and branding of food, and provides for the administration of those requirements by the Food and Drug Branch of the State Department of Health Services, and, upon request of local agencies, for the administration of certain requirements by local health officers. Violation of this law is a crime.
This bill would require a meat or poultry supplier, distributor, broker, or processor that sells a meat- or poultry-related product in California that is subject to a voluntary recall requested or issued by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to immediately notify the State Department of Health Services and to provide the department with a list of retailers that have received or will receive any product subject to recall that the supplier, distributor, broker, or processor has handled or anticipates handling.
The bill would authorize the department to notify appropriate local health officers and environmental health directors that a supplier, distributor, broker, processor, or retailer in the local jurisdiction has handled or received, or anticipates handling or receiving, a meat- or poultry-related product that is subject to a voluntary recall requested or issued by the USDA.
If the department makes that notification, the bill would require the department, local health officers, and environmental health directors to notify the public regarding recalled meat- and poultry-related products, except that, in the case of a restaurant, the bill would prohibit the department, local health officers, and environmental health directors from providing public notification if the local health officers or environmental health directors determine that the recalled product has been removed from the restaurant site. The bill would prohibit both notifications from being made in the case of USDA Class III recalls. By creating additional duties for local government, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
By creating new crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would require the department to submit to the Legislature for review, by January 1, 2005, copies of all memoranda of understanding pertaining to meat- and poultry-related products.
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, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed $1,000,000.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.