Food Recovery Requirements for Businesses

State Senate Bill (or SB) 1383 requires commercial edible food generators to donate all leftover or unsold food that would otherwise be disposed. SB 1383 sets a statewide goal to recover 20% of edible food waste by 2025 to address food insecurity in California and reduce food waste. SB 1383 also mandates organics recycling statewide, and additional requirements meant to reduce methane emissions and other climate pollutants.

In 2018, 4.3 million Californians (10.8% of California’s population) did not have enough to eat. By May 2020, that number had doubled, surging to 9.2 million Californians, which is 23% of California’s population. However, Californians send 11.2 billion pounds of food to landfills each year, some of which is still fresh enough to be recovered to feed people in need (calrecycle.ca.gov).

Organic waste in landfills emits:

• 20% of the state’s methane, a climate super pollutant 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
• Air pollutants like PM 2.5, which contributes to health conditions like asthma.

Organics like food scraps, yard trimmings, paper, and cardboard make up half of what Californians dump in landfills. Reducing Short-Lived Climate Super Pollutants like organic waste will have an immense impact on the climate crisis (calrecycle.ca.gov).

The SB 1383-defined Commercial Edible Food Generators are:

Tier 1 – Effective January 1, 2022

• Supermarkets with revenue ≥ $2 million
• Grocery Stores with Facilities ≥ 10,000 sq. ft.
• Food Service Providers
• Food Distributors
• Wholesale Food Vendors

Tier 2 – Effective January 1, 2024

• Restaurant with 250+ seats OR a total facility size of 5,000+ square feet
• Hotel with on-site food facility and 200+ rooms
• Health facility with an on-site food facility and 100+ beds
• Large venue serving an average of 2,000+ individuals within the grounds of the facility per day of operation
• Large event serving an average of 2000+ individuals per day of operation
• A state agency with a cafeteria with 250+ seats OR total cafeteria size of 5,000+ square feet
• A local education agency facility with an on-site food facility

Edible food includes food not sold because of surplus, appearance, age, or freshness, and includes prepared food, packaged food, shelf-stable food, and produce. Donated food must meet food safety requirements of the California Retail Food Code.

Food Recovery Organization is defined as an entity that engages in the collection or receipt of edible food and distributes that edible food to the public for food recovery.

Food Recovery Service is defined as a person or entity that collects and transports edible food to a food recovery organization or other entities for food recovery.

Food Service Provider is defined as an entity primarily engaged in providing food services to institutional, governmental, commercial, or industrial locations of others based on contractual arrangements with these types of organizations.

Food Distributor is defined as a company that distributes food to entities including, but not limited to, supermarkets and grocery stores.

Wholesale Food Vendor is defined as a business or establishment engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of food, where food (including fruits and vegetables) is received, shipped, stored, prepared for distribution to a retailer, warehouse, distributor, or other destination.

Grocery Store is defined as a store primarily engaged in the retail sale of canned food, dry goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meats, fish, and poultry, and any area that is not separately owned within the store where the food is prepared and served, including a bakery, deli, and meat and seafood departments, with a total facility size equal to or greater than 10,000 square feet. 

Supermarket is defined as a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two million dollars ($2,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items.

Restaurant is defined as with an establishment primarily engaged in the retail sale of food and drinks for on-premises or immediate consumption with 250 or more seats, OR a total facility size equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet.

Health Facility has the same meaning as in Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code, with an on-site food facility and 100 or more beds.

Hotel has the same meaning as in Section 17210 of the Business and Professions Code, with an on-site food facility and 200 or more rooms.

The City of Long Beach maintains a list of food recovery organizations and services that may be available to accept donations. Navigate to the list of food rescue organizations.

For compliance with SB 1383, edible food must be donated to an organization with which the business has a written contract or agreement. Written agreements help protect both the donor and the organization receiving the donation.

Per SB 1383, only edible food that would otherwise have been disposed of must be donated to a food recovery organization. The City does not discourage the practice of providing employees with free or discounted food.

These legislative protections make it safe to donate your edible food:

• The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act federally protects from liability when donating food in good faith. The 2023 Food Donation Improvement Act further expands these protections.
• The California Good Samaritan Food Donation Act expands liability protection to cover donations given directly from food donors to end recipients and provides protection for “past-date” foods still fit for human consumption.
• The California Health and Safety Code Section 114433 protects food facilities from criminal liability for a violation that occurs after the time donation.

All SB 1383-defined commercial edible food generators are subject to inspections at any time.

Resources coming soon.