You asked for summaries of California's and Georgia's bills requiring food processors to report positive tests for pathogens or harmful contaminants and of relevant provisions of the Connecticut Food Drug and Cosmetic Act.

SUMMARY

The bills in both states are similar. They authorize the state's food safety agency to adopt regulations compelling all food processors to adopt a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan, or a plan that at least meets the requirements for one. A HACCP plan is designed to prevent food contamination by applying a set of principles and testing samples taken at critical control points in the food production process. Both bills require a processor's plan to conform to national and international HACCP principles and guidelines. Federal law requires meat, poultry, and juice processors to adopt HACCP plans.

California also has a bill authorizing the food safety agency to adopt regulations concerning the voluntary recall of food.

Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection is the food safety agency. It apparently has the authority to adopt HACCP requirements for meat, poultry, and juice processors and would apparently require further statutory authority to adopt regulations similar to those in the California and Georgia bills.

CALIFORNIA

Senate Bill 173

The bill authorizes the California Department of Public Health to adopt regulations concerning voluntary recalls of food that, without intervention, could transmit an illness that could kill or seriously affect human health. Such illnesses include those that cause clinically plausible secondary illnesses, infections, pathogens, contagions, toxins, or other conditions.

The bill is in committee.

Assembly Bill 1372

The bill requires all food processing facilities to adopt and implement a HACCP plan. It requires the Department of Public Health to adopt regulations setting minimum standards for them. They must, at a minimum, adhere to the HACCP principles and guidelines adopted by the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods and:

1. describe the facility's procedures to prevent the presence of hazards, including preventive controls, monitoring, and maintaining records of corrective actions and;

2. provide for regular testing of samples for the presence of poisonous or deleterious substances or other contaminants.

The bill requires testing to be done in accordance with the standards presented in the federal Food and Drug Administration's Bacteriological Analytical Manual and with standards developed by the Association of Analytical Communities International and the International Organization of Standardization.

The bill requires food processing facilities to report a test result that shows the presence of poisonous or deleterious substances or contaminants to the department within 24 hours.

The bill authorizes the Department of Public Health to:

1. adopt regulations,

2. review all HACCP plans as adopted by all facilities,

3. conduct inspections, and

4. order a facility to test samples or specimens, when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that food or ingredients may be injurious to health.

The bill requires facilities to implement its provisions on January 1, 2012 or January 1, 2013, depending on the facility's gross annual revenue.

The bill is in committee.

GEORGIA

Georgia's bill (SB 80, 2009) defines “food processing plant” as a commercial operation that manufactures food but does not provide it directly to consumers. It authorizes the agriculture commissioner to adopt regulations requiring regular testing of samples by food processing plants for the presence of poisonous or deleterious substances or other contaminants the make the food injurious to health.

The regulations must establish minimum standards for a written food safety plan, such as a HACCP. It must document the procedures used to: prevent hazards, monitor to ensure the effectiveness of its preventive controls, and record any corrective actions taken. The plan must be submitted to the Department of Agriculture. The bill requires plants to comply with their written food safety plan.

It authorizes the agriculture department to require a facility to test additional samples or specimens, when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that food or ingredients may be injurious to health.

The bill requires testing to be done in accordance with the standards presented in the federal Food and Drug Administration's Bacteriological Analytical Manual and with standards developed by the Association of Analytical Communities International, the International Organization of Standardization, or another internationally recognized certification body.

The bill requires food processing facilities to report a test result that shows the presence of poisonous or deleterious substances or contaminants to the department within 24 hours. The plant must keep records of test results for at least two years and make them available to the Department of Agriculture for inspection.

The bill exempts plants subject to inspection by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Finally, the bill authorizes the department to conduct inspections.

The bill has been enacted.

CONNECTICUT

Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection is responsible for enforcing the Connecticut Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (CGS §§ 21a-91 to 21a-125). This is the counterpart to the laws enforced by California's Department of Public Health and Georgia's Department of Agriculture. The act is a complement to the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and is intended to: protect consumers from harm caused by merchandising deceit, be uniform with the federal law to the extent that it bans false advertisement, and promote uniformity with similar laws throughout the United States (CGS § 21a-91).  

The consumer protection commissioner, in conjunction with the director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, can adopt implementing regulations. Specifically, they are authorized to (1) adopt as state regulations, as far as practicable, the regulations adopted under the federal law, (2) make state regulations, as far as practicable, conform to federal regulations, and (3) adopt regulations banning adulterated food which adversely affects the public's health or safety (CGS § 21a-115).

Using this authority, it appears that Connecticut could adopt HACCP requirements like those imposed by the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It may need additional statutory authority to adopt requirements like those in the California bill and Georgia act.

HAZARDOUS ANALYSIS CRITICAL CONTROL POINTS

HACCP is a systematic approach to preventing contamination in food production. A HACCP plan is designed to prevent, eliminate, or reduce to acceptable levels the presence of microbial, chemical, and physical hazards associated with food production. Key actions taken at critical control points are used to eliminate or reduce hazards. The U. S. Department of Agriculture has established mandatory HACCP requirements in the meat and poultry industries and the Food and Drug Administration has established mandatory HACCP requirements in the

juice industry. Use of the HACCP principles is voluntary in other industries. Information on HACCP standards is attached and more is available on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Information website (Food Safety Information Center website).

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