Media Contact: Michelle.Sherwood@sen.ca.gov

BAKERSFIELD, CA – – Today, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) released the following statement, regarding her bill Senate Bill 1029—The One Health Framework Development Act: 

“The recent contamination of powdered baby formula from Cronobacter has exposed the need for a greater investment in the One Health Framework,” said Senator Hurtado. “Much of the focus across the country is on the impacts of viruses such as COVID-19, and how they impact human and animal physical health. Bacteria like Cronobacter can devastatingly affect our food supply chain, creating an additional layer of food insecurity—in this sense a literal one—where food is not safe to eat or drink. We are already seeing baby formula shortages, and contamination of existing supplies may mean that more infants will have less access to nutrition they need. We must act, and move forward with funding for research and programs that help study and monitor the relationship of our environment, animals and humans so that we can prevent food shortages, and further illnesses.”

Recently, a foodborne germ known as Cronobacter, contaminated powdered baby formula, which infected infants— sadly, taking the lives of two infants in Ohio. Cronobacter is a bacteria found naturally in the environment, that can live in very dry places, like baby formula and other powdered consumables.  

This contamination is an example of the devastating effects that our environment can have on our health. Food security is not just ensuring that people have enough to eat, but ensuring that the way food is grown, processed, stored, and shipped is safe from diseases and bacteria that can make us very ill.

The ever-changing interactions and proximity between humans and animals have led to the spread of existing or emerging zoonotic diseases for centuries. These diseases or infections are caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites, and can spread by contact with animals, insects or through food consumption. One Health is a collaborative, multisector, and transdisciplinary approach which aims to prevent outbreaks of zoonotic disease in animals and people, improve food safety and security, and protect global health security overall.

SB 1029 requires the California Department of Public Health and the California Department of Food and Agriculture to jointly establish and administer the One Health Program for developing a framework for interagency coordination in response to zoonotic diseases and to reduce hazards to human and animal health. This bill is awaiting hearing in the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Last year, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 453—the Pandemic Preparedness Act. SB 453 lays the ground work to ensure California and the Nation are better prepared for the next global pandemic by directing grants from the fund established in the bill to the CSU Agricultural Research Institute. The institute includes CSU Chico, CSU Fresno, CSU Cal Poly Pomona, CSU Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, CSU Monterey and CSU Humboldt. The mission of the CSU Agricultural Institute, through the collaboration of Colleges of Agricultures and allied disciplines across the CSU, is to conduct applied research to ensure the sustainability of California agriculture.

Senate Bill 703, signed last session, ensures that all poultry and livestock labs who provide service specifically for animal diseases also provide equally reliable results by allowing the CDFA to create laboratory certification standards.

About Senator Melissa Hurtado

Senator Melissa Hurtado represents a new generation of Latina leaders, as the youngest woman ever elected to the California State Senate and as a product of immigrant parents. Senator Hurtado represents the 14th Senate District and focuses on rural community issues that often go unheard — access to clean air and water, food insecurity and poverty, inequities in environmental policies, agriculture and access to health care. In July 2020, she was appointed to the national Biden Latino Leadership Committee alongside former Labor Secretary and current Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis – the only two California Latinas on the Committee.

For more information, visit Senator Hurtado’s Website here or find her on Twitter at @Senator_Hurtado

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