Food production.

Existing law, the California Retail Food Code, establishes uniform health and sanitation standards for retail food facilities and provides for the enforcement of those standards by local health agencies and by the State Department of Public Health, as specified. The code requires farm stands, as defined, to comply with specified requirements governing food safety and sanitation. A violation of the code is a crime. This bill would authorize, except under a specified circumstance, a community food producer or a gleaner, as defined, to sell or provide whole uncut fruits or vegetables, or unrefrigerated shell eggs, directly to the public or to a permitted restaurant if the community food producer meets specified requirements, including that the produce is labeled with the name and address of the community food producer and that egg production is limited to 15 dozen eggs per month. The bill would authorize a city or county health enforcement office to require a community food producer or gleaner to register with the city or county and to provide specified information, including, but not limited to, the name, address, and telephone number of the community food producer or gleaner. The bill would also authorize an enforcement officer to enter into and inspect the operations of a community food producer or gleaner in response to a food safety recall or food safety complaint. The bill would authorize an enforcement officer to issue a cease and desist order for violations of these provisions, which would prohibit the community food producer or gleaner from further sales until the operations of the community food producer or gleaner are reinspected and cleared by the enforcement officer's agency. The bill would also authorize the enforcement officer to recover reasonable costs associated with an inspection from the community food producer or gleaner. Existing law makes it unlawful for an egg handler, as defined, to hold, store, transport, or display eggs that are packed or graded for human consumption unless the eggs are held, stored, transported, or displayed consistent with specified requirements. Existing law provides that certified farmers' markets, as defined, are not required to comply with that provision. This bill would instead provide that direct marketing activities, including certified farmers' markets, community food producers, community-supported agriculture, and farm stands, as each of those terms are defined, are not required to comply with the above-described provision relating to an egg handler. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 113789 of the Health and Safety Code, proposed by SB 170 and SB 1235, that would become operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are chaptered and become effective January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last. Because the bill would create new crimes and would impose additional duties on local food inspectors, the 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 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.