- California's Department of Food Agriculture (CDFA) recently
published its finalized animal confinement regulations,
codified at 3 C.C.R. § 1320-1326, as well as the accompanying
Final Statement of Reasons. The finalized
regulations are largely identical to the proposed second modified text, published in June.
- By way of background, California's Proposition 12 establishes standards for the
confinement of certain farm animals (breeding pigs, calves raised
for veal, and egg-laying hens) and bans the sale of eggs, veal, and
pork products that do not comply with those standards (see our
previous blogs here and here).
- As our readers know, enforcement of California's
Proposition 12 was delayed for some stakeholders in January 2022,
after a judge for the Superior Court in Sacramento County ordered that grocers, restaurants, and
retailers would not be subject to enforcement of the new
restrictions on whole pork meat sales until six months after the
state enacted its final regulations. An appeal was filed by the
State of California and is currently pending.
- In addition, Proposition 12 is currently being litigated in the U.S. Supreme Court, after several agricultural groups petitioned the court to review a Ninth Circuit Court decision to uphold Proposition 12, alleging that the law's national impact on pork producers is an undue burden on interstate commerce. The case remains ongoing. Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor this matter and report on any updates.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
