BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE SB 920
Office of Senate Floor Analyses
1020 N Street, Suite 524
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
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Bill No: SB 920
Author: Thompson (D), et al
Amended: 7/28/97
Vote: 21
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SENATE HEALTH & HUMAN SERV. COMMITTEE : 6-0, 5/14/97
AYES: Watson, Vasconcellos, Hughes, Polanco, Solis,
Thompson
NOT VOTING: Haynes, Maddy, Mountjoy
SENATE FLOOR : 37-0, 5/23/97 (Consent)
AYES: Alpert, Ayala, Brulte, Burton, Calderon, Costa,
Greene, Hayden, Haynes, Hughes, Hurtt, Johannessen,
Johnson, Johnston, Karnette, Kelley, Knight, Kopp, Lee,
Leslie, Lewis, Lockyer, Maddy, Monteith, Mountjoy,
O'Connell, Peace, Polanco, Rainey, Rosenthal, Schiff,
Sher, Solis, Thompson, Vasconcellos, Watson, Wright
NOT VOTING: Craven, Dills, McPherson
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 9/3/97 (Passed on Consent)
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SUBJECT : Olive oil: labeling
SOURCE : California Olive Oil Council
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DIGEST : This bill specifies that olive oil labeled as
California olive oil must be made from California olives.
If the olive oil is labeled as coming from a viticultural
area, as specified in federal law, 75% of the oil must be
from olives grown in that viticultural area. This bill
permits the blending of olive oil if the contents and
proportions of the blend are prominently displayed on the
container's label.
Assembly Amendments add provisions to specify that (1)
olive oil labeled as California olive oil must be made from
California olives, and (2) if the olive oil is labeled as
coming from a viticultural area, 75% of the oil must be
from olives grown in that viticultural area.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Makes it unlawful to manufacture, sell, offer for sale,
give away or to possess imitation olive oil in
California.
2.Permits olive oil blended with other edible oils if the
blend is not labeled as olive oil or imitation olive oil,
and is clearly labeled as a blended vegetable oil, and
contents and proportions are prominently displayed on the
label.
According to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee
analysis:
Currently, the United States is not a member of the
International Olive Oil Council (IOOC), the body which
regulates the quality and labeling of olive oil throughout
Europe and much of the world. Further, there is no
existing United States regulation which governs the
labeling and quality of olive oil, particularly with regard
to origin of fruit, date of harvest, etc. This information
frequently is represented explicitly or implicitly on
California labels.
The objective of the California Olive Oil Council is to
ultimately adopt standards by 1998 at least as demanding as
those currently in use by the IOOC. This bill is the first
step in this direction. It is intended to assure consumers
of the origins and/or purity of the contents, support the
growth and integrity of California olive growers and olive
oil producers and protect the investments that producers
and marketers have made in establishing California as a
source of world class olive oil.
Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat, which has been promoted
in recent years as good for the heart and possibly a hedge
against developing certain cancers. The Center for Science
in the Public Interest has determined that all research
suggests that olive oil is the safest and healthiest -- or
at least the least damaging to the system in terms of oil
or fat.
In 1995, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
stated that from 73 olive oils tested for purity, only 4%
were pure olive oil -- the remainder were determined to be
blended with other oils. Although the olive oil
association disagrees with the FDA findings, the concern of
impure oils has grown in the last two years and the
government does not have the resources to restrict the
companies that claim to sell pure olive oil. The FDA
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition has indicated
that it doesn't like to see people mislead, however, the
resources are not available to present these violations.
According to the author's office, federal findings are
vague and this bill was introduced to require bottled oil
to be accurately described on the label in terms of
quality, variety and region produced.
Prior Legislation
SB 1666 (Thompson), Chapter 530 (1993), established a
working group of industry leaders involved in the
protection and sale of olive oil, and this bill is intended
to expand upon that measure.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/3/97)
California Olive Oil Council (source)
CP:ctl 9/3/97 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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