October 01, 2008
Sophie Asks:
When will SB 634 take effect and will this bill affect olive oils nationally or just in California?
David Miller (from Senator Wiggins' office) Answers:
"The answer to the first question is January 1, 2009.
The answer to the second one is a little longer: Senator Wiggins hopes that lawmakers in other states may follow suit with similarly pro- industry, pro-consumer legislation of their own, and that enactment of the California standards may help prompt action at the federal level.
Of course, olive oil producers are not obligated to abide by the new California law in other states. But just as producers in our state had pushed the quality envelope in advance of the Senator's legislation, producers in other states may simply decide to conform with California's new law in their U.S. sales instead of developing different systems of labeling for their olive oils."
Note from the OOS: This specifically means that all U.S. and foreign producers will be obligated to abide by the new law when selling in California, but at this point, neither California nor other U.S. or foreign producers have to follow the new California standards when selling outside California.