Existing law, the California Retail Food Code, provides for the regulation of health and sanitation standards for retail food facilities, as defined, by the State Department of Public Health. Under existing law, local health agencies are primarily responsible for enforcing the California Retail Food Code, and a person who violates any provision of the code is guilty of a misdemeanor, except as otherwise provided.

Existing law requires returned empty containers intended for refilling with food or beverage to be cleaned and refilled in an approved facility, except that consumer-owned containers may be refilled and returned to the same consumer if the container is refilled by an employee of the food facility or the owner of the container and the dispensing system includes a contamination-free transfer process.

This bill would instead provide that clean consumer-owned containers provided or returned to the food facility for filling may be filled by either the employee or the owner of the container, and would require the food facility to isolate the consumer-owned containers from the serving surface or sanitize the serving surface after each filling. The bill would require the consumer-owned containers to be designed and constructed for reuse, as specified. The bill would require the food facility to prepare, maintain, and adhere to written procedures to prevent cross-contamination, and to make the written procedures available to the enforcement agency.

Existing law defines a temporary food facility, for purposes of the California Retail Food Code, as a food facility approved by the enforcement officer that operates at a fixed location for the duration of an approved community event or at a swap meet and only as a part of the community event or swap meet. Under existing law, a temporary food facility is required to provide single-use articles for use by the consumer.

This bill would authorize a local enforcement agency to allow a temporary food facility to use multiuse utensils that are cleaned, rinsed, and sanitized at either the temporary food facility or an approved food facility.

Because any violation of these provisions would be a crime, this 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.