Retail food safety.

(1) Existing law, the California Retail Food Code, reestablishes uniform health and sanitation standards for retail food facilities, including mobile food facilities and temporary food facilities, by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law provides that local health agencies are primarily responsible for enforcing these provisions. A person who violates any provision of the code is guilty of a misdemeanor, except as otherwise provided. (2) The code requires a cottage food operation, as defined, to meet specified requirements relating to training, sanitation, preparation, labeling, and permissible types of sales. Existing law requires a "Class A" cottage food operation to register with the local enforcement agency in accordance with specified provisions. Existing law defines a "direct sale" with respect to cottage food operations as a transaction between a cottage food operation operator and a consumer, as specified. This bill would redefine a "direct sale" for these purposes as a transaction within the state between a cottage food operation operator and a consumer, as specified. The bill would require a "Class A" cottage food operation to renew its registration annually. The bill would require a cottage food operator to retain a registration or permit or an accurate copy thereof onsite at the time of either direct or indirect cottage food sale. The bill would also make other related changes with respect to cottage food operations. (3) The code requires that all employees of food facilities thoroughly wash their hands before engaging in food preparation and before donning gloves for working with food. The code requires that employees wear gloves when contacting food and food-contact surfaces under certain conditions, including when they have cuts, sores, or rashes. The code also requires owners of food facilities and others, as specified, to require food employees to report to the person in charge if a food employee has a lesion or wound that is open or draining, as specified, unless the lesion is covered or protected. This bill would, among other things, revise the code to require handwashing when changing gloves, except as specified, and that employees wear single-use gloves, as specified, when contacting food and food-contact surfaces under the conditions described above. The bill would prohibit an employee who has a wound, as specified, that is open and draining from handling food, unless the wound is covered, as specified. The bill would make conforming changes to the reporting requirement described above. This bill would require food employees to wash their hands in accordance with specified provisions, and would prohibit food employees from contacting exposed, ready-to-eat food with their bare hands, except under specified circumstances. (4) The code requires that a mobile food facility have a water heater with a minimum capacity of 3 gallons, except as specified. This bill would increase the required minimum amount of capacity for a water heater on a mobile food facility to 4 gallons, or, if the facility only utilizes the water for handwashing purposes, require only 12 gallon, except as specified. The bill would make other changes relating to mobile food facilities. (5) The code requires that handwashing and utensil washing facilities approved by the enforcement officer be provided within nonprofit charitable temporary food facilities, except where food and beverage is prepackaged. This bill would authorize the local enforcement agency to allow a nonprofit charitable temporary food facility to provide an adequate supply of utensils and spare utensils when they have been properly washed and sanitized at an approved facility, under specified circumstances. (6) The code authorizes a warewashing sink to be shared by no more than 4 temporary food facilities that handle nonprepackaged food if the sink is centrally located and is adjacent to the sharing facilities. This bill would authorize the local enforcement agency to authorize up to 8 temporary food facilities to share a warewashing sink under specified circumstances, and would authorize the local enforcement agency to instead allow a temporary food facility to provide an adequate supply of utensils and spare utensils when they have been properly washed and sanitized at an approved facility, under specified circumstances. (7) The code requires a food facility to prevent the entrance and harborage of animals and prohibits a food employee from caring for or handling animals that may be present. The code permits a food employee with a service animal to handle or care for the service animal if the employee washes his or her hands as required. The code defines a service animal to mean a guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. This bill would revise the definition of a "service animal" for purposes of the code to mean a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability. The definition would specifically exclude other species of animals, as specified. The bill would also define "highly susceptible population" and "hot dog" for purposes of the code and would make a clarifying change to the definition of "limited food preparation." (8) By revising the standards that must be enforced by local health agencies and by expanding the scope of existing crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (9) 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.