AB 1870: Organic products.

Existing law, the California Organic Food and Farming Act, requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, county agricultural commissioners, and the Director of the State Department of Public Health to enforce state and federal laws governing the production, labeling, and marketing of organic products, as specified. Existing law requires every person engaged in the state in the processing or handling of specified products for human consumption that are sold as organic to register with the director, as specified.

Existing law authorizes any person to file a complaint with the director concerning suspected noncompliance with those provisions by a person over whom the director has control. Existing law requires the director, to the extent funds are available, to establish a procedure for handling those complaints and commencing and completing an investigation, as specified, and reporting the findings and enforcement action taken, if any, to the complainant within 90 days.

Existing law also requires the director to compile and publish and submit to the California Organic Products Advisory Committee a summary of specified information collected pursuant to the above-described registration form.

The bill would require the director to establish a process for resolving complaints that meets the 90-day timeline and a procedure for clearing complaints that cannot be resolved.

This bill would additionally require the director to compile and publish and submit information on the total amount of fees collected pursuant to the registration requirement, including the costs to administer the program.