BILL ANALYSIS
AB 97
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 6, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Mervyn Dymally, Chair
AB 97 (Mendoza) - As Introduced: December 21, 2006
SUBJECT : Food: trans fats.
SUMMARY : Prohibits storing, distributing, serving, or using any
food, oil, shortening, or margarine containing artificial trans
fat in the preparation of any food within a food facility.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits on and after July 1, 2008, oil, shortening, or
margarine containing artificial trans fat for use in spreads
or frying, except for the deep frying of yeast dough or cake
batter, from being stored, distributed, or served by, or used
in the preparation of any food within a food facility.
Exempts from this requirement food sold or served in a
manufacturer's original, sealed package.
2)Prohibits on and after July 1, 2009, any food containing
artificial trans fat, including oil and shortening that
contains artificial trans fat for use in the deep frying of
yeast or cake batter from being stored, distributed, or served
by, or used in the preparation of any food within a food
facility. Exempts from this requirement food sold or served
in a manufacturer's original, sealed package.
3)Requires food facilities to maintain on their premises the
manufacturer's documentation or label for any food or food
additive, that is or includes any fat, oil, shortening, for as
long as the food or food additives is stored, distributed, or
served by, or used in the preparation of food within, the food
facility.
4)Specifies that the label described in #3) above refers to the
label required under federal or state law to be on the food or
food additive at the time of purchase by the food facility.
5)Requires the manufacturer's documentation to be maintained
when a label is not required by federal and state law on the
food or food additive that is or includes any fat, oil, or
shortening. Requires the manufacturer's documentation to be
authorized by the Department of Public Health (DPH) and
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disclose one or both of the following:
a) The trans fat content of the food or food additive; or,
b) Whether a food or food additive is or includes
margarine, vegetable shortening, or any kind of partially
hydrogenated vegetable oil.
6)States that a food contains artificial trans fat if the food
contains vegetable shortening, margarine, or any kind of
partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, unless the
manufacturer's documentation or the label required on the
food, pursuant to applicable federal and state law, lists the
trans fat content as less than 0.5 grams per serving.
7)Applies existing law definition of "food facility" to this
bill.
8)Prohibits a violation of this bill from being subject to
specified penalties of the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Law (Sherman Law).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Renames the Department of Health Services as the Department of
Health Care Services and transfers certain public health
responsibilities, including the regulation of food facilities,
as of July 1, 2007 to a newly established DPH.
2)Establishes the Sherman Law to regulate the packaging,
labeling, and advertising of food, drugs, and cosmetics.
Requires the DPH to administer and enforce this law.
Specifies that the penalty for a violation of the Sherman Law
would be imprisonment for not more than one year in the county
jail, or a fine of not more than $1,000, or both the
imprisonment and fine.
3)Establishes the California Uniform Retail Food Facilities Law
(CURFFL), and effective July 1, 2007, the California Retail
Food Code (CRFC), to regulate the health and sanitation
standards for food facilities by the DPH. States that primary
responsibility for enforcement of CRFC is with the local
enforcement agency.
4)Indicates that any person who violates the provisions of CRFC
is guilty of misdemeanor. States that each offense is
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punishable by a fine of not less than $25 or more than $
1,000, or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not
exceeding six months, or by both fine and imprisonment.
Allows a local enforcement agency to suspend or revoke a
permit of a food facility that violates the CRFC.
5)Defines "food facility" as an operation that stores, prepares,
packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human
consumption at the retail level. Includes in this definition
permanent and nonpermanent food facilities, including but not
limited to: a) public and private school cafeterias; b)
restricted food service facilities; c) licensed health care
facilities; d) commissaries; e) mobile food facilities; f)
mobile support units; g) temporary food facilities; h) vending
machines; and i) certified farmers' markets, for purposes of
permitting and enforcement.
6)Establishes the United States Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) to regulate food, cosmetics, medicines, and medicine
products; and ensures that such products are labeled
appropriately. Requires manufacturers to list trans fat, on
the nutrition facts panel of foods and some dietary
supplements.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL . According to the author, this bill is
necessary because the elimination of trans fatty acids, and
replacing them with healthy alternatives would reduce coronary
heart disease, and encourage healthier lifestyles in
California. The author also points out that if fast food
chains like Kentucky Fried Chicken and Wendy's could eliminate
and replace with healthier alternatives the trans fat these
establishments use to cook items on their menu like chicken,
potato wedges, and fries, then it is possible for other
California restaurants to use healthier alternatives.
2)TRANS FATS . According to the FDA, trans fat, also known as
trans fatty acids, is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to
vegetable oil, a process called hydrogenation. Hydrogenation
increases the shelf life and stability of food containing
these fats. Trans fat can be found in vegetable shortenings,
some margarines, cookies, crackers, snack foods, energy and
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nutrition bars, and other foods made with or fried in
partially hydrogenated oils. A small amount of trans fat is
found naturally, primarily in some animal-based foods. The
FDA estimates that the average daily intake of trans fat in
the U.S. population is about 5.8 grams or 2.6% of calories per
day for individuals 20 years of age or older.
The FDA points out that good sources of heart-healthy
alternatives to trans fat include monounsaturated fats (like
olive and canola oils) and polyunsaturated fats (such as
soybean, corn, sunflower oils and in foods like nuts and
fish).
3)FDA TRANS FAT LABELING REQUIREMENT . According to the FDA,
when it finalized regulations in 1993 on the Nutrition
Labeling and Education Act, it did not require trans fat to be
listed on the nutrition facts panel because at that time, the
scientific evidence was not conclusive about the relationship
between trans fat intake and increased blood cholesterol
levels. The following year, the Center for Science in the
Public Interest, a consumer advocacy organization, filed a
petition (amended in July 1998) with FDA requesting that the
agency take steps to require trans fat to be listed on
nutrition labels. In response to that petition, FDA issued a
proposal to amend regulations to require that trans fat be
listed on nutrition labels. The FDA has since reviewed the
scientific evidence and recommendations of various scientific
bodies on trans fat, including the Institute of Medicine
(IOM), National Academies of Science, an expert panel for the
National Cholesterol Education Program, and the Advisory
Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2000.
Currently, the FDA requires, as of January 1, 2006, the amount
of trans fat in a serving be listed on a separate line under
saturated fat on the nutrition facts panel of a product.
However, trans fat content does not have to be listed if the
total fat is less than 0.5 gram per serving and no claims are
made about fat, fatty acids, or cholesterol content. This
exemption allows for the presence of naturally occurring trans
fat in meat and dairy products which may have partially
hydrogenated vegetable oil listed as an ingredient. It should
be noted that there is no listing of the Daily Value
percentage (DV) for trans fat because no recommendation has
been made on an amount of trans fat that the FDA could use to
establish a DV. Dietary supplement manufacturers are also
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required to list trans fat on the Supplement Facts panel when
their products contain reportable amounts of trans fat.
4)ADVERSE EFFECTS OF TRANS FAT . According to a report written
by the IOM at the request of the FDA, a number of studies on
trans fat have reported that trans fat consumption increases
low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad") cholesterol
concentrations and decreases high-density lipoprotein (HDL or
"good") particles, which scour blood vessels for bad
cholesterol and carry it to the liver for disposal. Trans fat
also increases the tendency of blood platelets to clump and
form potentially artery-blocking clots. The IOM report states
that there is a "positive linear trend between trans fatty
acid intake and total and LDL concentration, and therefore the
risk of coronary heart disease (CHD)." The report recommended
that trans fatty acid consumption be as low as possible while
consuming a nutritionally adequate diet. According to the
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National
Institutes of Health, more than 12.5 million American have
CHD, and more than 500,000 die each year from this disease,
which makes CHD one of the leading causes of death in the U.S.
5)LOS ANGELES COUNTY VOLUNTARY PHASE OUT . On January 30, 2007,
Los Angeles County announced a plan to encourage restaurants
to voluntarily phase out trans fat over the next 18 months.
Under the plan, restaurants are offered incentives which could
include an official window decal indicating that trans fat has
been eliminated from the menu. The county points out that the
decal, which would likely be handed out during inspections,
could assist consumers when deciding if they want to dine at a
particular restaurant.
6)OTHER STATES . On December 5, 2006, New York (NY) became the
first city to ban trans fat in all restaurants within the
city. Under NY's ban, restaurants are prohibited from using
most frying oils containing artificial trans fat by July 2007,
and will have to eliminate artificial trans fats from all
foods by July 2008. According to the NY Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene (NYDOHMH), it launched the Trans Fat
Education Campaign in June 2005 which called on all New York
food service establishments or restaurants to voluntarily
remove trans fat from foods they serve. This was supported by
extensive educational outreach to food suppliers, consumers
and to every licensed restaurant in NY. The department
conducted two surveys to assess the use of trans
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fat-containing products in NY restaurants. Data from the
survey revealed that trans fat use remained common and did not
decline substantially despite the Trans Fat Education
Campaign.
The National Conference of State Legislatures indicated on its
website that California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii,
Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, Rhode Island and Texas have pending legislation
prohibiting the use of artificial trans fat.
7)POLICY QUESTIONS .
a) Placement of this bill. This bill as currently written
is added to the Sherman Law which regulates the packaging,
labeling, and advertising of food, drugs, and cosmetics.
However, this bill affects food facilities which are
regulated under CRFC. Is it more appropriate to include
the provisions of this bill to the CRFC?
b) Penalty. This bill prohibits applying the monetary
and/or imprisonment penalty provisions of the Sherman Law
for a violation. Should a penalty be established for
failure to comply with the provisions of this bill?
c) Documentation. This bill requires the manufacturer's
documentation to be maintained when a label is not required
by federal and state law on the food or food additive that
is or includes any fat, oil, or shortening. However, it is
unclear if manufacturers maintain these documentations. In
addition, it is unclear what this bill means when it
specifies that the DPH must authorize these documentations.
8)RELATED LEGISLATION .
a) AB 86 (Lieu), would prohibit the sale of certain foods
items at elementary, middle, junior, or high schools from
containing partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated vegetable
oils, except to the extent that these oils occur naturally
in the food item. AB 86 is double-referred and is
currently pending in the Assembly Education Committee.
Should AB 86 pass out of the Assembly Education Committee,
it will be referred to the Assembly Health Committee.
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b) AB 90 (Huffman), would prohibit a school or school
district from making available to pupils enrolled in
kindergarten or any of grades 1 through 12, during school
hours, any food containing artificial trans fat, or use
food containing artificial trans fat in the preparation of
a food item served. AB 90 is double-referred and is
currently pending in the Assembly Education Committee.
Should AB 90 pass out of the Assembly Education Committee,
it will be referred to the Assembly Health Committee.
c) AB 93 (Garcia), would prohibit any food containing
artificial trans fat from being stored, distributed, or
served by, or used in the preparation of any food within a
food facility. This bill is pending in the Assembly Health
Committee.
9)SUPPORT . The California Alliance for Consumer Protection
states that this bill supports consumer education about the
dangers of trans fat and limits hardships to restaurants and
consumers because the bill phases out the use of trans fat
over time.
10)OPPOSITION . Opponents such as the California Restaurant
Association, California Farm Bureau Federation, and the
California Grocers Association, believe this bill is
unnecessary for the following reasons: a) the ban may be
misleading to both businesses and consumers since eliminating
artificial trans fat will not accomplish the goal of improving
the overall health of Californians; b) the switch from trans
fat containing oils to replacement oils is not practical
because of the limited supply of replacement oils, many of
which are high in saturated fats; c) this bill would be
detrimental to small mom and pop businesses who would be
forced to change their menus, pricing and business models; and
d) the ban is unfairly detrimental to ethnic restaurants which
may find it more difficult to prepare ethnic dishes with trans
fat-free substitutes.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Alliance for Consumer Protection
Opposition
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California Chamber of Commerce
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Grocers Association
California Hotel & Lodging Association
California Independent Grocers Association
California Restaurant Association
California Retailers Association
Grocery Manufacturers Association/Food Products Association
National Federation of Independent Businesses
Analysis Prepared by : Rosielyn Pulmano / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097