HOUSE BILL NO. 378 "An Act relating to the Alaska Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, including sales, advertising, certain devices, food donors, and food banks; making certain violations of organic food provisions and of the Alaska Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices under certain of the state's unfair trade practices and consumer protection laws; and providing for an effective date." This was the first hearing for this bill in the Senate Finance Committee. Co-Chair Wilken stated this bill, sponsored by the House Finance Committee, "Authorizes the Department of Environmental Conservation to implement key elements of the new food safety program, which are called Active Managerial Control." REPRESENTATIVE BILL WILLIAMS noted the fees for food inspections have increased from $50 to approximately $450 per business. He spoke of subsequent comments from businesses about these increased fees given the infrequency of inspections. He therefore had asked the previous and current gubernatorial administrations to eliminate the fees, as businesses and consumers garner no benefit from these fees. ERNESTA BALLARD, Commissioner, Department of Environmental Conservation, testified that cases of food borne illness are not accidents but rather incidents: the failure of those handling the food to observe well understood proper procedures. She continued as follows. Our program that Representative Williams has correctly described as under funded and failing, is based on a 1950s style, really a pre-WWII style, of restaurant inspections that was designed in an era in which there were twenty million meals served a day in restaurants. In the 50s and 60s with the suburban boom that number jumped to 60 million meals a day served in restaurants, and yet the same method of periodic restaurant inspections was considered an adequate regulatory program. In 2004 the National Restaurant Association, the other NRA, estimates that there will be 70 billion meals, a jump from 60 million fifteen years ago to 70 billion meals served in restaurants. The inspection program of the 50s is not adequate to restaurant safety, food safety today. With the urging of the House Finance Committee and its Chair, we completely redesigned. We looked at successful models of food safety in particularly the three areas that are known to cause incidences of illness: poor personal hygiene, which means hand washing and attention to employee grooming and hygiene habits and being sure that sick employees are being sent home. That's one. The second is inadequate attention to temperature and cooking procedures, which can be addressed with standard operating procedures. And the third element is inadequate training, which is being addressed by the restaurant association and most of the large chains and by many states and health departments in voluntary programs. Inadequate training is being addressed by certification and training programs. The National Restaurant Association recently graduated their one millionth certified food handler from their program. We looked at those three areas. We looked at the very successful regulatory programs that we run in air and soil and water protection in which standard operating procedures and self-certification with written records which are then audited by the Department and a very heavy field presence in compliance and enforcement. That is the method and model that we use elsewhere in the DEC [Department of Environmental Conservation] that is the method and model that we propose to use in our Active Managerial Control. We are actually excited about this. If you are not a regulator you may not get excited about a new regulatory method, but we're proud of what we have done. We have been in contact with states around the country who are very interested to see any state have the courage to walk away from the old, under funded, and failed consultative program that we've all been clinging to, and moving to a new, modern era of regulatory control. I want to close by pointing out the success that prevention can have and protection against exposure. You are probably aware of the outbreak of a Norwalk virus that occurred on the Iditarod Trail in March. It began in McGrath. It was well documented. Epidemiology and Kristin's staff together went out. There were twenty cases in McGrath. The State employee team followed the Trail, picked up evidence of cases all along the Trail, and were very worried about what would happen in Nome when the entire race and the entire army of followers and supporters arrived in Nome. Kristin's staff, who are nothing if they are not determined, talked to all of the restaurants in Nome, the entire community smelled of Clorox, got all the restaurants cleaned up, and then went and worked with the Millennium Hotel, in the gymnasium where the banquet was held, and got a thousand rubber gloves and got every person who went to the Musher's Banquet to go through the food line with their serving hand gloved. We have wonderful photographs of this. There was not a single outbreak of Norwalk virus in Nome. The Musher's Banquet was not spoiled. Those that had made it successfully to Nome then did not have to take Montezuma's Revenge home with them when they left. Prevention works. Our Active Managerial Control program is designed to put the responsibility where it appropriately lies, and that is in the regulated community. It is adequate to cover the entire state without regard to where our inspectors may be at the time. We're very proud of it. I hope you will consider it favorably today. Senator Bunde referenced media reports of a viral outbreak in Fairbanks and asked whether this outbreak is food borne as well. KRISTIN RYAN, Director, Division of Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Conservation stated that the Norwalk virus is difficult to trace, although it is transmittable by air, water, food, and hand-to-hand contact. She reported that the Division is attempting to identify the origins and transmission patterns of this outbreak. Senator Bunde understood that the outbreak originated at two establishments in Fairbanks. Ms. Ryan affirmed that food is the carrier, although she was unsure whether food was the original source. ROBIN NORTHSEYER, owner and operator, Northern Hospitality Training and Consulting, testified via teleconference from an offnet location that she has been conducting food safety training. She has found that the issue is not a lack of will in keeping people from getting sick, but rather the lack of knowledge of how easily illness could be transmitted through food. She emphasized that training is "key" to public safety in Alaska given the number of visitors. She expressed that spreading food borne illnesses to tourists would be detrimental to the industry. Senator Olson asked if the witness supports the bill and whether her opinion represents the industry. Ms. Northseyer affirmed both. Senator Olson asked how this legislation would apply to small restaurants located in small communities. Ms. Ballard expressed the intention that all who handle raw food would receive training in safe handling procedures. She stated that the Department would ensure that training and testing activities would not inconvenience owners and employees of businesses in small communities. Senator Dyson offered a motion to report the bill from Committee with individual recommendations and accompanying fiscal notes. There was no objection and HB 378 MOVED from Committee with zero fiscal note #1 from the Department of Law and fiscal note #2 of $210,700 from the Department of Environmental Conservation.