In This Section:
Bay Area Readies For Another Hearing On Charbroiler Regs
California Adopts ICC Building Codes
Court Reprieves Outdoor Dining In Providence
Brits Get Serious About Ban On Some Food Ads
This issue's Economic Report Sponsor: The NAFEM Show 2007
Industry Report Sponsor: FHV2007
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Bay Area Readies For Another Hearing On Charbroiler Regs
If you're running foodservice in the San Francisco Bay area, mark your calendar for May 16. That's when you'll have another—and likely final—chance to comment on charbroiler hood filtration regs proposed by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. On that date the district is holding a public hearing on amendments to the proposed rules at the district office in San Francisco. Written comments must be submitted by May 7.
The original concept for the proposed rule was to focus only on charbroiler exhaust, but, as eventually proposed, was expanded to require a new type of filtration on all Type I hoods without fixed extractors or removable cartridge-style filters. After a series of workshops in which industry experts, including Don Fisher from PG&E's Food Service Technology Center, met with BAAQMD board members, the rule was amended.
The amended rule focuses only on hoods over two types of charbroilers: chain-driven gas-fired conveyors, and gas under-fired charbroilers that total 10-plus sq. ft. in surface area. While the amended rules are far less onerous than originally written, Fisher said that "cost effectiveness reported at the workshops of $24,000 per ton is outside the range of acceptability," and $50,000 is more likely.
George Zawacki, editor of the ventilation-focused Up Your Stack newsletter, operator of www.upyourstack.com and longtime foodservice consultant, also said the amended rule is better but still flawed.
You can read the revised proposal by going to www.baaqmd.gov/pln/ruledev/regulatory_public_hearings.htm and following the links related to Regulation 6, Rule 2. To file public comment, you can click on the link for the Public Hearing Notice, and scroll to the last paragraph for a public comments link.
Or you can file comments directly with Virginia Lau, Senior Air Quality Specialist, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, 939 Ellis Street, San Francisco, California, 91409, telephone (415) 749-4696,
fax (415) 749-4741, or e-mail at vlau@baaqmd.gov.
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California Adopts ICC Building Codes
Used to going its own way, California instead recently followed the lead of 44 other states and adopted International Code Council standards as the basis for new building and fire codes. The California Building Standards Commission said it plans to use the International Building Code, the International Residential Code and the International Fire Code as models for its new state codes.
Former state Gov. Gray Davis' administration had decided to adopt the National Fire Protection Association's untested NFPA 5000 Building Code and NFPA 1 Fire Code. But the current commission voted against using NFPA codes because more than 500 pages of amendments were added to the original 515-page rule book.
Basing state building and fire codes on ICC standards will be simpler, according to CBSC Chairperson Rosario Marin. New state building and fire codes will be published this summer and will take effect next January. For more information on ICC codes, go to www.iccsafe.org. To track CBSC code changes, go to www.bsc.ca.gov.
Court Reprieves Outdoor Dining In Providence
You can still get a seasonal license in Providence, R.I., for outdoor dining and liquor this summer. But that might change in October.
A court case filed by The Providence Journal back in 2004 is at the root of the issue. The newspaper maintained in that case that existing state law required consent from the majority of neighbors within a 200-ft. radius of any proposed liquor-serving business before a liquor license can be granted. The paper charged that it had not been notified of its neighbor's plan to extend business to an adjacent patio, nor had it consented. The case wound its way through appeals to R.I.'s Supreme Court last month. The court ordered a temporary stay allowing the city to issue seasonal licenses immediately, but with stipulations for a hearing within 60 days and notification of abutting property owners.
The Supreme Court still may rule against the city, but won't hear the case until October.
The conflict arises from a longstanding difference between how Providence and the rest of the state handle such license applications.
Brits Get Serious About Ban On Some Food Ads
British school kids won't see familiar brand characters pushing burgers, fish and chips, presweetened cereals or other foods high in fat, sugar and sodium anymore. At least not in magazines aimed at them.
Following the government's recent ban of broadcast ads for what it defines as junk foods that target kids, the Committee for Advertising Practices announced an even stricter code for print media. Under the new code, ads for any food or drink other than fruits and vegetables have to meet certain criteria. You can't use licensed characters, offer promotions, encourage excessive consumption or make any misleading health claims in print media aimed at children under age 16.
The broadcast ban relies on a complex formula created by the U.K.'s Food Standards Agency to determine which foods or drinks fall under the junk food definition. CAP, an industry self-regulatory group, applied the new ad content rules to all foods rather than try to determine nutritional profiles, saying "a banana and chocolate bar can both feature in a balanced diet." CAP said the broadcast ban classifies foods such as raisins, cheese and cereal, which can be part of a child's healthy diet, as junk food.
CAP's new rules, which will be enforced by the independent Advertising Standards Authority, take effect on July 1, the same date government's broadcast ad ban kicks in.
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