ARTICLE 5. Adulterated Food [110545. - 110655.]

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC 5.
in effect

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110545. Section 110545.

Any food is adulterated if it bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance that may render it injurious to health of man or any other animal that may consume it. The food is not considered adulterated if the substance is a naturally occurring substance and if the quantity of the substance in the food does not render it injurious to health.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110552. Section 110552.

(a) The department shall regulate candy to ensure that the candy is not adulterated. (b) For the purposes of this chapter, “candy” means any confectionary intended for individual consumption that contains chili, tamarind, or any other ingredient identified as posing a health risk in regulations adopted by the office or department. (c) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “Office” means the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. (2) “Adulterated candy” means any candy with lead in excess of the naturally occurring level. Moreover, candy is adulterated if its wrapper or the ink on the wrapper contains lead in excess of standards which the office, in consultation with the department and the Attorney General, shall establish by July 1, 2006. (3) “Naturally occurring level” of lead in candy shall be determined by regulations adopted by the office after consultation with the department and the Attorney General. For purposes of this section, the “naturally occurring level” of lead in candy is only naturally occurring to the extent that it is not avoidable by good agricultural, manufacturing, and procurement practices, or by other practices currently feasible. The producer and manufacturer of candy and candy ingredients shall at all times use quality control measures that reduce the natural chemical contaminants to the “lowest level currently feasible” as this term is used in subsection (c) of Section 110.110 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The “naturally occurring level” of lead shall not include any lead in an ingredient resulting from agricultural equipment, fuels used on or around soils or crops, fertilizers, pesticides, or other materials that are applied to soils or crops or added to water used to irrigate soils or crops. The office shall determine the naturally occurring levels of lead in candy containing chili and tamarind no later than July 1, 2006. The office shall determine the naturally occurring levels of lead in candy containing other ingredients upon request by the department or the Attorney General, and in the absence of a request, when the office determines that the presence of the ingredient in candy may pose a health risk. Until the office adopts regulations determining the naturally occurring level of lead, the Attorney General’s written determination, if any, including any determination set forth in a consent judgment entered into by the Attorney General, of the naturally occurring level of lead in candy or in a candy ingredient shall be binding for purposes of this section. (4) “Wrapper” means all packaging materials in contact with the candy, including, but not limited to, the paper cellophane, plastic container, stick handle, spoon, small pot (olla), and squeeze tube, or similar devices. “Wrapper” does not include any part of the packaging from which lead will not leach, as demonstrated by the manufacturer, to the satisfaction of the office. (d) The standards adopted pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (c) shall be reviewed by the office every three-year to five-year period in order to determine whether advances in scientific knowledge, the development of better agricultural or manufacturing practices, or changes in detection limits require revision of the standards. (e) The department shall do all of the following: (1) Ensure that the candy is not adulterated. (2) Establish procedures for the testing of candy and the certification of unadulterated candy products. The procedures shall require candy manufacturers to certify candy as being unadulterated. The certification shall be based on appropriate sampling and testing protocols as determined by the office in consultation with the Attorney General’s office. (3) Through its Food and Drug Branch, test the samples of candy collected pursuant to this article. The department may test any candy, including candy tested pursuant to paragraph (2) in order to ensure the candy is unadulterated. (4) Adopt regulations necessary for the enforcement of this article. (5) Evaluate the regulatory process, identify problems, and make changes or report to the Legislature, as necessary. (f) If the candy tested pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (e) is found to be adulterated, the department shall do both of the following: (1) Issue health advisory notices to county health departments alerting them to the danger posed by consumption of the candy. (2) Notify the manufacturer and the distributor of the candy that the candy is adulterated, and that the candy may not be sold or distributed in the state until further testing proves that the candy is unadulterated. (g) (1) For any candy found to be adulterated, the manufacturer or distributor may request that the department test a subsequent sample of candy. The department shall select the candy to be tested. The cost of any subsequent sampling and testing shall be borne by the manufacturer or distributor requesting the additional testing. (2) If the candy is found to be unadulterated when it is retested, the department shall provide the manufacturer or distributor and the county health department with a letter stating that the candy has been retested and determined to be unadulterated, and that the sale and distribution of the candy in the state may resume. (3) If the candy is found to remain adulterated when retested, the manufacturer or distributor may take corrective measures and continue to resubmit samples for testing until tests prove the candy unadulterated. (h) (1) The sale of adulterated candy to California consumers is a violation of this section. Any person knowingly and intentionally selling adulterated candy shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to five hundred dollars ($500) per violation. The regulations adopted shall provide that funding for this section shall be met in part or in whole by those penalties, upon appropriation by the Legislature. (2) In the event that a candy product is found to be adulterated, the department may recover the costs incurred in the chemical analysis of that product from the manufacturer or distributor. (3) Except as expressly set forth in this section, nothing in this section shall alter or diminish any legal obligation otherwise required in common law or by statute or regulation, and nothing in this section shall create or enlarge any defense in any action to enforce that legal obligation. Penalties imposed under this section shall be in addition to any penalties otherwise prescribed by law. (4) This section shall not be the basis for any stay of proceedings or other order limiting or delaying the prosecution of any action to enforce Section 25249.6.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110555. Section 110555.

Any food is adulterated if it is, bears, or contains any food additive that is unsafe within the meaning of Section 110445. If, however, a pesticide chemical has been used in or on a raw agricultural commodity in conformity with an exemption granted or a tolerance prescribed under this part or the Food and Agricultural Code and the raw agricultural commodity has been subject to processing, such as canning, cooking, freezing, dehydrating, or milling, the residue of a pesticide chemical remaining in or on the processed food shall not be deemed unsafe if the residue in or on the raw agricultural commodity has been removed to the extent possible in good manufacturing practice, and the concentration of the residue in the processed food when ready to eat is not greater than the tolerance prescribed for the raw agricultural commodity.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110560. Section 110560.

Any food is adulterated if it consists in whole or in part of any diseased, contaminated, filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance, or if it is otherwise unfit for food.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110565. Section 110565.

Any food is adulterated if it has been produced, prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby it may have been rendered unwholesome, diseased, or injurious to health.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110570. Section 110570.

Any food is adulterated if it is, in whole or in part, the product of any diseased animal, any animal that has died otherwise than by slaughter, or any animal that has been fed on the uncooked offal from a slaughterhouse.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110575. Section 110575.

Any food is adulterated if its container is composed, in whole or in part, of any poisonous or deleterious substance that may render the contents injurious to health.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110580. Section 110580.

Any food is adulterated if it has been intentionally subjected to ionizing radiation unless the use of the radiation was in conformity with a regulation or exemption in effect pursuant to Section 110070.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110585. Section 110585.

Any food is adulterated if any one of the following conditions exist: (a) If any valuable constituent has been in whole or in part omitted or abstracted therefrom. (b) If any substance has been substituted wholly or in part therefor. (c) If damage or inferiority has been concealed in any manner. (d) If any substance has been added thereto or mixed or packed therewith so as to increase its bulk or weight or reduce its quality or strength or make it appear better or of greater value than it is.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110590. Section 110590.

Any food is adulterated if it is confectionery and any one of the following conditions exist: (a) It has partially or completely embedded therein any nonnutritive object, provided that this subdivision shall not apply in the case of any nonnutritive object if, in the judgment of the department as provided by regulation, the object is of practical functional value to the confectionery product and would not render the product injurious or hazardous to health. (b) It bears or contains any alcohol in excess of 5 percent by weight. (c) It bears or contains any nonnutritive substance, provided that this subdivision shall not apply to a safe nonnutritive substance that is in or on confectionery by reason of its use for some practical functional purpose in the manufacture, packaging, or storage of the confectionery if the use of the substance does not promote deception of the consumer or otherwise result in adulteration or misbranding in violation of any provision of this act; and provided further that the department may, for the purpose of avoiding or resolving uncertainty as to the application of this clause, issue regulations allowing or prohibiting the use of particular nonnutritive substances.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110597. Section 110597.

Any food is adulterated if it is wine and any one of the following conditions exists: (a) It contains lead in concentrations exceeding 150 parts per billion, or in excess of a more stringent tolerance as may be established by federal law or regulation, unless it can be shown by the producer, or if not produced in California, by the licensed importer, that the wine was bottled before January 1, 1994. (b) A metal foil capsule containing lead in excess of 0.3 percent by dry weight is affixed or attached to its container, unless it can be shown by the producer, or if not produced in California, by the licensed importer, that the wine was bottled before January 1, 1994. (c) Notwithstanding any other rule or principle of law that may afford a private right of action to bring claims based on alleged violations of laws or standards, the right to commence and pursue civil or administrative actions to impose or collect fines, penalties, damages, or other remedies based on an alleged violation of the Wine Safety Act established pursuant to Senate Bill 1022 of the 1993–94 Regular Session shall be vested exclusively in the state, through the Food and Drug Branch of the State Department of Health Services and the Office of the Attorney General, and with local health officers or city attorneys or district attorneys otherwise empowered to prosecute violations of this division. Retailers of wine, including, but not limited to, “retailers” as defined in Section 23023 of the Business and Professions Code, or food facilities as defined in Section 113785, shall be entitled to all of the same protections for any violations of the Wine Safety Act established pursuant to Senate Bill 1022 of the 1993–94 Regular Session, as are afforded to food dealers pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 110245). This subdivision does not apply to, limit, alter, or restrict any action for personal injury or wrongful death, or any action based upon a failure to warn.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110600. Section 110600.

Any food is adulterated if it is fresh meat and it contains any preservative or other chemical substance not approved for use in fresh meat by the department, the United States Department of Agriculture, or the Department of Food and Agriculture of this state.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110605. Section 110605.

Any food is adulterated if it is chopped or ground beef or hamburger unless it is composed of voluntary striated muscle of fresh beef that does not contain any substance that is not approved by the department and unless it has a total fat content that is not in excess of 30 percent by weight.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110611. Section 110611.

A dietary supplement, food, or beverage is not adulterated by the inclusion of cannabidiol (CBD) or cannabinol (CBN) isolate derived from industrial hemp, as defined in Section 11018.5, as long as the hemp product does not contain any other cannabinoid or synthetic cannabinoid and meets the requirements established in Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 111920). The sale of a dietary supplement, food, or beverage that includes CBD or CBN isolate derived from industrial hemp shall not be restricted or prohibited based solely on the inclusion of CBD or CBN.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110615. Section 110615.

The methods of analysis used in determining the fat content of products described in Sections 110605 and 110610 shall be those prescribed by the current issue of “Official and Tentative Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists,” and the supplements thereto.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110635. Section 110635.

While any regulation relating to a substance referred to in Section 110080, 110085, or 110090 is in effect, any food bearing or containing a substance in accordance with the regulation shall not be considered to be adulterated.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110640. Section 110640.

The director, with the assistance of the Department of Food and Agriculture, and in cooperation with the federal Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency, shall identify those pesticides most likely to leave residue in processed foods.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110645. Section 110645.

Whenever the director has been notified by the Director of Food and Agriculture pursuant to Section 12582 of the Food and Agricultural Code, the director shall immediately notify the processor, if known, by telephone, with immediate written confirmation, and take appropriate action pursuant to Section 110045.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110650. Section 110650.

This article does not prohibit the addition of fluorine or fluorine compounds to water intended for sale to the public as bottled water for domestic use in the manner and to the extent as may be approved by the department. The label of the bottled water shall, however, satisfy all of the labeling requirements prescribed by this part.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 110655. Section 110655.

Any food intended for export shall not be deemed to be adulterated within the provisions of this part if it satisfies all of the following requirements: (a) It accords to the specifications of the foreign purchaser. (b) It is not in conflict with the laws of the importing country. (c) It is labeled on the outside of the shipping package to show that it is intended for export. If the article is sold or offered for sale in domestic commerce, this section shall not exempt it from any of the provisions of this part.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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