Acidified foods and low-acid foods.

The definition of 'acidified food' in Section 110959.1(a) no longer requires the food to be 'shelf-stable.' Previously it read 'shelf-stable low-acid food to which acid or acid food is added'; now it simply reads 'low-acid food to which acid or acid food is added.' This expands the scope of products subject to the new registration, scheduled process, and $350 annual fee requirements.

Removed duplicate word 'expert' in Section 110959.1(c)(1) (was 'Expert expert knowledge,' now 'expert knowledge').

Removed duplicate word 'process' in Section 110959.2 (was 'scheduled process process,' now 'scheduled process').

The appropriation designation was corrected from 'no' to 'yes,' confirming the bill makes an appropriation for the Food Safety Fund.

Removed all references to 'health and care facilities' from the bill title, digest, and the standalone intent section (former Section 1). The bill is now purely about food safety.

Added a refrigeration exemption to the 'acidified food' definition in Section 110959.1: 'This article does not apply to foods that are stored, distributed, and retailed under refrigeration.' This carves out a significant category of products from the new scheduled process requirements.

Removed the cannery license exemption from Section 110480(a)(5) and removed reference to cannery inspection fees from Section 110474, consistent with the repeal of Chapter 8 (canneries).

Added new Section 100425 establishing an annual fee-adjustment mechanism: fees and charges across roughly 30 code sections are adjusted each year by the percentage change printed in the Budget Act, with a cap that total increases cannot exceed increased program costs. The department must publish a list of actual fee amounts annually.

Added subdivision (c) to Section 110050 designating the Food Safety Fund as the successor fund to the Cannery Inspection Fund, requiring all moneys to be transferred into the Food Safety Fund for immediate use. This makes the bill an appropriation measure.

Added clarification in Section 110959.1(c)(2) that a processing authority may be an independent third party retained by the processor and is not required to be affiliated with the processor or the department.

Section 110959.2 now explicitly cross-references federal definitions: a scheduled process must be 'as defined in Section 113.83 or 114.83 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations and amendments thereto.'

Added new Section 110959.15 stating legislative intent that Article 7.5 be interpreted and implemented consistently with federal Parts 113 and 114 of Title 21 CFR, and directing the department to administer and enforce in a manner that does not conflict with those federal requirements.

Section 110959.3 now requires a scheduled process obtained 'in accordance with this article' rather than just from a processing authority, tightening the compliance standard for the misbranding provision.

Vote requirement changed from majority to two-thirds; appropriation changed from no to yes; fiscal committee changed from no to yes; state-mandated local program changed from no to yes.

The bill now regulates commercial manufacturing, processing, and packing of acidified foods and low-acid foods for human or animal consumption, replacing the original intent-only language about health and care facilities.

Chapter 8 (Cannery Inspection, Sections 112650 and following) of Part 6 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed, eliminating the old cannery licensing and inspection system including the Cannery Inspection Board and Cannery Inspection Fund.

New definitions added for 'acidified food' (shelf-stable low-acid food with finished equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below and water activity greater than 0.85), 'low-acid food' (shelf-stable food with pH greater than 4.6 and water activity greater than 0.85, excluding tomato products with pH below 4.7), 'processing authority,' and 'scheduled process.'

Persons engaged in commercial manufacturing, processing, or packing of acidified or low-acid food must obtain a scheduled process from a processing authority before doing so. Products made without one are deemed misbranded.

A registration requirement is added: persons must be registered with the department before engaging in commercial manufacturing, processing, or packing of acidified or low-acid food.

A $350 annual fee is imposed on every person manufacturing, packing, or holding acidified or low-acid food requiring a scheduled process, in addition to the existing registration fee. Revenue goes into a newly created Food Safety Fund for inspections and reviews of such facilities.

The Food Safety Fund (Section 110050) is created as a special fund in the State Treasury to collect various food safety-related fees, court-ordered payments, and the new $350 fee for use by the department upon legislative appropriation.

Fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' reflecting the new fee structure and fund creation. State-mandated local program changed from 'no' to 'yes' because the bill expands the scope of existing crimes.

Violators must pay all reasonable costs of inspection and laboratory examination necessary to determine that embargoed product was packed in violation. Costs are deposited into the Food Safety Fund.

Section 110480 is amended to clarify exemptions from registration requirements, including a new exemption for food facilities with wholesale permits that do not exceed 25 percent gross annual wholesale sales of processed foods, do not sell outside local jurisdiction, do not require labeling, do not handle fresh/frozen seafood or raw shellfish, and do not salvage processed foods.