02/13/1997 01:35 PM Senate L&C

                                                                               
                SB  65 FOOD/SEAFOOD/ORGANIC FOOD                              
                                                                              
  CHAIRMAN LEMAN  announced  SB 65  to be up for consideration.                
                                                                               
  JANICE ADAIR,  Director, Division of Environmental Health, explained         
 that within her Division are meat and dairy inspections that most             
 people don't equate with DEC.  She said the statutes that deal with           
 food are very confusing because they are all over the place and               
 some conflict with one another.  This bill consolidates all of the            
 DEC statutes relating to food processing and service into Title 17            
 which is entitled Food and Drugs.  Under current law some of these            
 statutes can also be found in Title 3.                                        
                                                                               
 This legislation also proposes to delete some of the obsolete                 
 statutes relating to bread and flour standards that have been on              
 the books since 1949 as well as some requirements in DEC for rabies           
 that they have never done.                                                    
                                                                               
 MS. ADAIR said that currently they are required in different parts            
 of the statute to follow three different federal laws:  the                   
 pasteurized milk ordinance, the National Shellfish Sanitation                 
 Program, and the Federal Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point               
 Program (HACCP).  These are updated on a regular basis and they               
 have to go through a regulatory process to update the document they           
 have adopted by reference.  This bill will allow them to                      
 automatically update their references without having to go through            
 the regulatory process which helps the people who are dealing with            
 the federal laws who have to follow them in order to sell their               
 products.  They always know when they are updated because they deal           
 so closely with the federal laws.                                             
                                                                               
 They propose to delete the requirement that the Department have a             
 field-kill inspection program for reindeer at State expense.  The             
 State would still have the authority to do it if anyone wanted to             
 have one, but not at State expense.  The one reindeer slaughter               
 facility in Mekoryuk has always worked with the department to help            
 defray costs for the inspections by providing the staff with                  
 housing and meals.                                                            
                                                                               
 SB 65 allows the State to accept the HACCP plans from processors              
 now rather than waiting for their effective date, December 18, 1997           
 because the European union is already requiring HACCP plans.                  
 Technically, we can't accept them now because our plan of                     
 operations is still on the books and we don't want processors to              
 have to do both.                                                              
                                                                               
 MS. REARDON said that SB 65 also repeals the requirement that the             
 department pay for food samples it obtains to check for                       
 wholesomeness.  She said the State doesn't do that now, but there             
 is still a requirement on the books. We also currently have to                
 reimburse inspectors without receipts if they purchase the samples,           
 and that is being deleted.                                                    
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN LEMAN  asked how much food sample is generally required for         
 a test.  MS. REARDON said it depends on the sample.  Shellfish can            
 be a little bit more as per the requirements from the National                
 Shellfish Sanitation Program.  CHAIRMAN LEMAN asked if it was                 
 picking, for instance, a few random crab - relatively small                   
 compared to the batch.  MS. REARDON answered that was correct.                
                                                                               
 MS. REARDON said she had never heard concerns expressed about this            
 program.  The only thing she had heard concerns on was the State              
 paid field kill inspection program.                                           
                                                                               
  TAPE 97-6, SIDE B                                                            
                                                                               
  JIM CANTOR,  Assistant Attorney General, said he would respond to            
 questions.  When he drafted the bill he was told to do a revisor's            
 organization along with the specifics that Ms. Reardon mentioned.             
 He said it was not the goal to change the way the program operated            
 or the way things were interpreted.                                           
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN LEMAN  asked him to flag any obsolete or awkward language           
 so they could make the changes.  He intends to work on this bill              
 and have it meet their goal of making government more user friendly           
 to business.