Senate Bill sb0256

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 256

    By Senator Margolis





    35-205B-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to nutrition in elementary and

  3         secondary schools; providing a short title;

  4         providing nutritional standards for food that

  5         is available to school children on school

  6         campuses and that is sold for fundraising

  7         purposes; requiring each school's child

  8         nutrition program to approve all food sold on

  9         school campuses or sold for fundraising

10         purposes; authorizing the Department of

11         Education to impose a fine for violations of

12         the act; amending s. 500.121, F.S.; authorizing

13         the Department of Agriculture and Consumer

14         Services to impose a fine against a food

15         manufacturer, processor, packer, or distributor

16         that misrepresents nutritional information on

17         food labels; providing an effective date.

18  

19         WHEREAS, in the United States approximately 300,000

20  deaths per year are currently associated with health

21  conditions that are caused or exacerbated by obesity, and the

22  total direct and indirect costs to taxpayers attributed to

23  this condition amounted to $117 billion in the year 2000, and

24         WHEREAS, obesity among this state's adults nearly

25  doubled from 1986 to 2000, while the number of overweight

26  adolescents has tripled, and

27         WHEREAS, during meal periods, federal regulations

28  prohibit the sale of certain foods in the food service area of

29  a school which are of minimal nutritional value, NOW,

30  THEREFORE,

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 256
    35-205B-05




 1  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

 2  

 3         Section 1.  Short title.--This act may be cited as the

 4  "Childhood Obesity Prevention Act."

 5         Section 2.  Regulation of food sold on school campuses

 6  and for fundraising purposes; penalties.--

 7         (1)  Effective for the 2005-2006 school year, food that

 8  is sold a la carte or in vending machines on any public school

 9  campus must meet the following criteria:

10         (a)  From one-half hour before school begins until

11  one-half hour after the end of the school day, only the

12  following beverages may be sold to students on campus:

13         1.  Any vegetable juice, fruit juice, or

14  fruit-juice-based drink that contains at least 30 percent

15  fruit juice.

16         2.  Drinking water.

17         3.  Low-fat, reduced-fat, or fat-free milk, including,

18  but not limited to, chocolate milk, strawberry milk, fortified

19  soy milk, fortified nondairy milk, and fortified rice milk.

20         (b)  From one-half hour before school begins until

21  one-half hour after the end of the school day, the following

22  snacks may not be sold to students on campus:

23         1.  Any food that is of minimal nutritional value, as

24  defined in 7 C.F.R. s. 210.11(a)(2), or snacks that do not

25  contain whole grain, enriched or fortified grains, or grain

26  products.

27         2.  Any food that derives 35 percent or more of its

28  total calories from added sugars, excluding those sugars that

29  are naturally occurring.

30  

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 256
    35-205B-05




 1         (c)  Beverages or food that is sold as a fundraising

 2  tool by a school club, organization, or association must meet

 3  the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b).

 4         (2)  Each school's child nutrition program shall

 5  regulate the vending machines located on school campuses. The

 6  child nutrition program must approve all food sold in vending

 7  machines or a la carte on school campuses or sold as

 8  fundraising tools to ensure that the food meets the

 9  requirements under subsection (1).

10         (3)  The Department of Education may impose a fine not

11  exceeding $500 per offense upon any person or entity that

12  violates the food requirements under subsection (1).

13         Section 3.  Subsection (2) of section 500.121, Florida

14  Statutes, is amended to read:

15         500.121  Disciplinary procedures.--

16         (2)(a)  Any manufacturer, processor, packer, or

17  distributor who misrepresents or mislabels the country of

18  origin of any food may, in addition to any penalty provided in

19  this chapter, be subject to an additional administrative fine

20  of up to $10,000 per violation.

21         (b)  The Department of Agriculture and Consumer

22  Services may impose a fine not exceeding $10,000 against any

23  manufacturer, processor, packer, or distributor that

24  misrepresents nutritional information on food labels.

25         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

26  

27            *****************************************

28                          SENATE SUMMARY

29    Creates the Childhood Obesity Prevention Act. Provides
      nutritional standards for food that is available to
30    school children on school campuses. Requires that each
      school's child nutrition program approve all food sold on
31    public school campuses or sold for fundraising purposes.
      Provides penalties.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.