WASHINGTON, D.C.
Garamendi hosts transportation roundtable with local leaders
Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, hosted a Transportation Advisory Committee meeting with local and statewide transportation leaders to share priorities and ideas to bolster California’s infrastructure for the future.
Garamendi was joined by California State Transportation Agency Secretary David Kim, Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, and Assemblymember Laura Friedman (Chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee).
“President Biden unveiled the boldest infrastructure and jobs plan in a generation,” Garamendi said. “His American Jobs Plan will rebuild our economy, create good-paying middle-class jobs, and build our nation’s transportation and infrastructure sectors back better than before. I am pleased that the President’s plan supports ‘Buy American’ policies that will ensure our infrastructure investments use American materials and workers to create thousands of new good-paying middle-class jobs.”
—Submitted
SACRAMENTO
Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry’s bill to assure truth in labelling Of “California” olive oil moves to the Senate
The Assembly this week passed Assembly Bill 535, authored by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), by a resounding 51-5 bipartisan vote. This bill establishes clear guidelines for when companies from the olive oil industry can use the term “California” in their product labeling and marketing. This measure will protect consumers and farmers by providing clear information about the source of the olives and olive oils in the products they buy.
California has had a thriving olive oil industry since the mid-19th century. The state produces approximately 4% of the world’s olive oil from over 75 varieties of olives. Due to California’s well-established reputation for producing high-quality olive oils, the demand for California olive oil is steadily increasing.
Because of this spike in demand, there has been an increase in branding of olive oil with the term “California” or a California regional designation when the product on shelves is actually blended using oils sourced from other regions of the world, including Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and South America. Such blends have been found to contain as little as 14 percent of Californian olive oil. As a result, a bottle of olive oil may be advertised and branded as “California” or a specific California region, but actually come from other countries.
AB 535 establishes clear guidelines for when olive oil producers can use the term “California” in their labeling.
The California Olive Oil Commission has found several brands of California olive oil whom are currently misleadingly using a California-related name on their labels that deceptively imply only olive oil grown in California is contained within the product.
“Allowing companies to trick consumers into thinking they’re buying a California product because they slap ‘California’ on their package undercuts everything we’re trying to accomplish as a State. These companies have misled my colleagues with little impact, as the vote confirms,” said Aguiar-Curry.
“This bill will ensure that consumers know exactly what they are buying, and it will help to support our local farmers who are producing world class oils from olives grown here in our State. These folks may try to confuse my colleagues, but they’re making a profit off our state, and the price we ask for that is to actually produce a California product.”
—Submitted
—Compiled by Ariel Carmona Jr.
