EGG FARMER LAW
The California legislature passed a law banning the sale of shelled eggs within California unless the producers or handlers abide by state requirements. The law mandates that egg farmers implement the salmonella prevention measures required by the FDA, implement a salmonella environmental monitoring program, and maintain a vaccination program.[1] The California law additionally prohibits egg farmers from confining egg-laying hens in an enclosure that does not provide a minimum square inches of floor space per bird or allow them to stand up, lay down, or turn around freely.[2] The California legislature’s intent in passing the law was “to protect California consumers from the deleterious, health, safety, and welfare effects of the sale and consumption of eggs derived from egg-laying hens that are exposed to significant stress and may result in increased exposure to disease pathogens including salmonella.”[3] The law went into effect in January 2015. Several states with egg farmers who sell their eggs in California sued California to prevent enforcement of the law, arguing that it violated the Commerce Clause and was preempted by the Federal Egg Products Inspection Act. The case was dismissed on procedural grounds (discussed in Chapter 8) so the court did not analyze the substantive claims. It remains to be seen whether other plaintiffs will be able to challenge the state law successfully based on these or other substantive legal arguments.
