Assembly BillPassed both housesHealth and Safety
AB 2706: Acidified foods and low-acid foods.
What AB 2706 does, verified September 16, 2026
The bill aims to regulate the commercial manufacturing, processing, and packing of acidified and low-acid foods. It would require individuals to register with the department before producing these foods, unless they have a scheduled process obtained from a processing authority. Those without a scheduled process would be deemed misbranded. A fee of $350 annually would be required for facilities needing a scheduled process, with the additional revenue deposited into the food safety fund for inspections and reviews.
Bill journey
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Last action: Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. (2026-09-03)Alert me
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Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $15/moUnlockRecent actions21 total · showing 5
| Sep. 03, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. |
| Aug. 26, 2026 | Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 6605.). |
| Aug. 26, 2026 | In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. |
| Aug. 25, 2026 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.). |
| Aug. 13, 2026 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
Latest bill textEnrolled version, August 30, 2026 · 2,884 words
| Enrolled August 30, 2026 |
| Passed IN Senate August 25, 2026 |
| Passed IN Assembly August 26, 2026 |
| Amended IN Senate June 04, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly March 19, 2026 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2706
| Introduced by Assembly Member Soria |
February 20, 2026 |
An act to amend Sections 100425, 110050, 110474, and 110480 of, to add Section 110471.5 to, to add Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 110959.1) to Chapter 5 of Part 5 of Division 104 of, and to repeal Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 112650) of Part 6 of Division 104 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to food safety, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2706, Soria. Acidified foods and low-acid foods.
Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for any person to engage in the noncommercial canning of salmon, or in the commercial canning of any fish or fish product, meat or meat product, or any other food product for the use of man or animal, the sterilization of which in the opinion of the State Department of Public Health requires the use of a pressure cooker or a retort, without first obtaining a license from the department. Existing law requires the department to issue an annual license to any person on the receipt of a specified fee and evidence showing the applicant is in compliance with the department’s sanitary requirements. Existing law establishes the Cannery Inspection Board to estimate specified costs for inspection and laboratory control. Existing law establishes the Cannery Inspection Fund for the receipt of moneys received pursuant to these provisions.
This bill would repeal these provisions. The bill would make related conforming changes.
Existing law, the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, under the administration and enforcement of the department, provides for the regulation of various subjects relating to the manufacturing, processing, labeling, advertising, and sale of food, drugs, and cosmetics. A violation of the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law is punishable as a misdemeanor. Existing law makes it unlawful for any person to misbrand any food or manufacture, sell, deliver, hold, or offer for sale any food that is misbranded. Existing law prohibits a person from manufacturing, packing, or holding any processed food in this state unless the person has a valid registration from the department, except as specified. Existing law requires a registration application to be completed annually and accompanied by a specified nonreturnable registration fee.
This bill would prohibit a person from engaging in the commercial manufacturing, processing, or packing of an acidified food or low-acid food for the use or consumption by people or animals without first being registered with the department. The bill would prohibit a person from engaging in the commercial manufacturing, processing, or packing of an acidified food or low-acid food for the use or consumption by people or animals without a scheduled process, as defined, obtained from a processing authority. The bill would deem an acidified food or low-acid food that is manufactured, processed, or packed by a person without a scheduled process obtained from a processing authority as misbranded. The bill would require every person engaged in the manufacture, packing, or holding of an acidified food or low-acid food required to have a scheduled process in this state to pay $350 annually in addition to their annual registration fee. The bill would require the additional fee to be deposited into the Food Safety Fund for use by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of conducting inspections and reviews of facilities that manufacture, hold, or pack an acidified food or low-acid food required to have a scheduled process.
By expanding the scope of existing crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would state that the Food Safety Fund is the successor fund to the Cannery Inspection Fund, and would require all moneys to be transferred to, and become a part of, the Food Safety Fund, to be available for immediate use for specified purposes. By using appropriated funds for a new purpose, the bill would make an appropriation.
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.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 100425 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:100425.
(a) The fees or charges for the issuance or renewal of any permit, license, registration, or document pursuant to Sections 1676, 1677, 2805, 11839.25, 103625, 106700, 106890, 106925, 107080, 107090, 107095, 107160, 110210, 110470, 110471, 111130, 111140, 111630, 111923.5, 111923.6, 112405, 112510, 113060, 113065, 114065, 115035, 115065, 115080, 117923, 117995, 118045, 118210, and 118245 shall be adjusted annually by the percentage change printed in the Budget Act for those items appropriating funds to the state department. After the first annual adjustment of fees or charges pursuant to this section, the fees or charges subject to subsequent adjustment shall be the fees or charges for the prior calendar year. The percentage change shall be determined by the Department of Finance, and shall include at least the total percentage change in salaries and operating expenses of the state department. However, the total increase in amounts collected under this section shall not exceed the total increased cost of the program or service provided.(b) The state department shall publish annually a list of the actual numerical fee charges for each permit, license, certification, or registration governed by this section.
(c) This adjustment of fees and publication of the fee list shall not be subject to the requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(d) With respect to the fees or charges pursuant to Section 103625, the actual dollar fee or charge shall be rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
SEC. 2.
Section 110050 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:110050.
(a) The Food Safety Fund is hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury. All moneys collected by the department under subdivision (c) of Section 110466 and Sections 110470, 110471, 110485, 110959.9, 114365, 114365.6, 111130, and 113717, and under Article 7 (commencing with Section 110810) of Chapter 5, or awarded to the department pursuant to court orders or settlements for the use of food safety-related activities, shall be deposited into the fund, for use by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes of providing funds necessary to carry out and implement the inspection provisions of this part relating to food, licensing, inspection, enforcement, and other provisions of Article 12 (commencing with Section 111070) of Chapter 5, relating to water, the provisions relating to education and training in the prevention of microbial contamination pursuant to Section 110485, and the registration provisions of Article 7 (commencing with Section 110810) of Chapter 5, and to carry out and implement the provisions of the California Retail Food Code (Part 7 (commencing with Section 113700) of Division 104).(b) All moneys collected by the department pursuant to Section 110471.5 shall be deposited into the fund, for use by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of conducting inspections and reviews of facilities that manufacture, pack, or hold an acidified food or low acid-food required to have a scheduled process.
(c) The Food Safety Fund is hereby designated as the successor fund to the Cannery Inspection Fund, as provided by Section 16346 of the Government Code. All moneys shall be transferred to, and become a part of, the Food Safety Fund and be available for immediate use for the purposes specified in this section.
SEC. 3.
Section 110471.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:110471.5.
(a) Every person engaged in the manufacture, packing, or holding of an acidified food or low-acid food in this state required to have a scheduled process shall pay three hundred fifty dollars ($350) annually in addition to their annual registration fee paid pursuant to Section 110470.(b) Revenue from the additional three-hundred-fifty-dollar ($350) fee described in subdivision (a) shall be deposited into the Food Safety Fund created pursuant to Section 110050.
SEC. 4.
Section 110474 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:110474.
Nothing in this chapter shall relieve a person who has a valid registration to manufacture, pack, or hold processed food issued by the department from any other requirements for licensure, registration, or certification under Article 7 (commencing with Section 110810), Article 12 (commencing with Section 111070), or Part 6 (commencing with Section 111940). The registration fee due to the department under this article from a person who holds one or more licenses, registrations, or certificates issued by the department pursuant to Article 12 (commencing with Section 111070) or Chapters 5 to 10, inclusive of Part 6 (commencing with Section 112150) shall be the fee for the single highest cost license, registration, or certificate only. Organic processed food registration fees collected pursuant to Section 110875 shall be in addition to any registration fees that may be collected under this article.SEC. 5.
Section 110480 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:110480.
(a) The registration requirements of this article do not apply to a person whose manufacturing, packing, or holding of processed food is limited solely to temporarily holding processed foods for up to seven days for further transport if the foods are not potentially hazardous foods, as defined in Section 110005, or to a person whose manufacturing, packing, or holding of processed food is limited solely to activities authorized by any of the following:(1) A valid bottled water or water vending machine license issued pursuant to Article 12 (commencing with Section 111070).
(2) A valid pet food license issued pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 113025) of Part 6.
(3) A valid permit issued pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 113700) of Part 7 to a food facility including a food facility that manufactures, packs, or holds processed food for sale at wholesale, provided the food facility that manufactures, packs, or holds processed food for sale at wholesale does not meet any of the following conditions:
(A) Has gross annual wholesale sales of processed foods of more than 25 percent of total food sales.
(B) Sells processed foods outside the jurisdiction of the local health department.
(C) Sells processed foods that require labeling pursuant to this part.
(D) Processes or handles fresh seafood, frozen seafood held in bulk for further processing, or fresh or frozen raw shellfish.
(E) Salvages processed foods for sale other than at the retail food facility.
(4) A valid cold storage license issued pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 112350) of Part 6.
(5) A valid shellfish certificate issued pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 112150) of Part 6.
(6) A valid frozen food locker plant license issued pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 112500) of Part 6.
(7) A valid beer manufacturer’s license, winegrower’s license, or wine blender’s license pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section 23000) of the Business and Professions Code.
(8) A valid milk products plant, margarine, imitation ice cream, imitation ice milk, or a products resembling milk products plant license, issued pursuant to Division 15 (commencing with Section 32501) of the Food and Agricultural Code.
(9) A valid permit issued by a local health department to operate a processing establishment, as defined in Section 111955, that only holds or warehouses processed food, pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 111950) of Chapter 4 of Part 6, provided that all of the following conditions are met:
(A) The warehouse does not manufacture or pack processed food.
(B) The warehouse does not hold fresh seafood, frozen seafood held in bulk for further processing, or fresh or frozen raw shellfish.
(C) The warehouse is not operated as an integral part of a food processing facility required to be registered pursuant to Section 110460.
(D) The warehouse facilities are located entirely within the area under the jurisdiction of the local health department.
(E) The warehouse does not salvage food as the primary business.
(b) An entity that provides food services other than the manufacturing, packing, or holding of processed food is subject to applicable provisions of the California Retail Food Code, as set forth in Part 7 (commencing with Section 113700).
(c) This section does not limit the authority of the Counties of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Orange, or of the City of Vernon, to conduct any inspections otherwise authorized by Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 111950) of Part 6.
SEC. 6.
Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 110959.1) is added to Chapter 5 of Part 5 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:Article 7.5. Acidified Foods and Low-Acid Foods
110959.1.
For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:(a) “Acidified food” means low-acid food to which acid or acid food is added and packaged within a hermetically sealed container with a finished equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below and a water activity greater than 0.85. This article does not apply to foods that are stored, distributed, and retailed under refrigeration.
(b) “Low-acid food” means shelf-stable food, other than an alcoholic beverage, packaged in a hermetically sealed container with a finished equilibrium pH greater than 4.6 and a water activity greater than 0.85. “Low-acid food” does not include a tomato or tomato product with a finished equilibrium pH of less than 4.7.
(c) (1) “Processing authority” means a person who has expert knowledge of thermal processing requirements for low-acid foods packaged in hermetically sealed containers with adequate facilities for making those determinations or expert knowledge in the acidification and processing of acidified foods. For purposes of this paragraph, “determinations” includes evaluating the overall effectiveness of a scheduled process to produce a safe product and using validated procedures to determine if deviations from a validated scheduled process create a risk to public health that require subsequent mitigation.
(2) A processing authority may be an independent third party retained by the processor and is not required to be affiliated with the processor or the department.
110959.2.
A person shall not engage in the commercial manufacturing, processing, or packing of an acidified food or low-acid food, including any fish or fish product, or any meat or meat product, for the use or consumption by people or animals without a scheduled process, as defined in Section 113.83 or 114.83 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations and amendments thereto, obtained from a processing authority.110959.3.
An acidified food or low-acid food that is manufactured, processed, or packed by a person without a scheduled process obtained from a processing authority in accordance with this article is misbranded.110959.5.
A person shall not engage in the commercial manufacturing, processing, or packing of an acidified food or low-acid food, including any fish or fish product, or any meat or meat product, for the use or consumption by people or animals without first being registered with the department.110959.7.
A person shall not place upon the label of any bottle, can, jar, carton, case, box, barrel, or any other receptacle, vessel, or container of whatever material or nature that may be used by a packer, manufacturer, producer, jobber, or dealer for enclosing any acidified food or low-acid food, including any fish or fish product, or any meat or meat product, any statement relative to the product having been inspected by the department, unless the statement has been approved in writing by the department.110959.9.
A person who manufactures, processes, or packs any acidified food or low-acid food in violation of this article shall pay the department all reasonable costs of inspection and any laboratory examination, as determined by the department, that were necessary to ascertain that the embargoed product was packed in violation of this article. Costs paid to the department pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the Food Safety Fund created pursuant to Section 110050.110959.15.
It is the intent of the Legislature that this article be interpreted and implemented in a manner consistent with applicable federal requirements, including, but not limited to, Part 113 (Thermally Processed Low-Acid Foods Packaged in Hermetically Sealed Containers) and Part 114 (Acidified Foods) of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as those regulations may be amended from time to time. To the extent practicable, the department shall administer and enforce this article in a manner that does not conflict with and is consistent with those federal requirements.SEC. 7.
Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 112650) of Part 6 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed.SEC. 8.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.Text of AB 2706 as enrolled, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions