SECTIONS 108850-108855 - California Statutes

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE

SECTION 108850-108855

108850. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The program maintained by the United States Food and Drug
Administration to regulate the amount of lead and cadmium released
from ceramic, metal, and other dishware and tableware is inadequate
to protect Californians from the importation and sale of unsafe
tableware in this state.
(b) Recent inspection and sampling conducted by local and state
health departments in California has demonstrated that significant
amounts of unsafe tableware are in fact being imported and sold in
California.
(c) The standards established by the federal government for
acceptable lead and cadmium release are likely inadequate to fully
protect public health and may be inconsistent with requirements that
already exist in California law governing exposure to lead and
cadmium.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department,
first, establish its own program to protect the public from unsafe
tableware and, second, develop standards for lead and cadmium release
from tableware that are consistent with existing state law.

108855. For purposes of this chapter the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Director" means the Director of Health Services.
(b) "Department" means the State Department of Health Services.
(c) "Distributor" means any person who brings tableware into
California from another state for sale.
(d) "Importer" means any person who brings tableware into
California from another country for sale.
(e) "Manufacturer" means any person who makes tableware sold in
California.
(f) "Small business" means any manufacturer, importer, or
distributor whose gross annual revenue for the sale of tableware is
thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) or less.
(g) "Tableware" means any glazed ceramic, enamel metalware, or
pewter article, container, or utensil that may be used in the
preparation, serving, or storage of food or drink.