Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday signed an assembly bill that will assure that the eggs consumers purchase meet state safety and animal welfare standards established by the voter-approved Proposition 2.
The bill was written by Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D, San Rafael, to close a potential loophole that could have allowed out-of-state egg producers to circumvent the farm animal confinement standards approved overwhelmingly two years ago.
"California voters have made it clear they want high standards for food safety, public health and animal welfare," Huffman said. "AB 1437 will ensure that all eggs sold to California consumers are produced in compliance with the safe and humane standards Proposition 2 established. It will also level the playing field for California egg producers, who are making significant investments to comply with Proposition 2, by holding out-of-state producers to the same high standards."
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The legislation goes into effect in January 2015.
Proposition 2 prohibits unsafe and inhumane confinement of farm animals in California.
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The Center for Food Safety has stated that extreme intensive confinement of egg-laying hens can have potentially serious public health and food safety implications. Egg-laying hens confined in cages suffer from significant stress and increased exposure to salmonella, the leading cause of food borne illness-related death in the United States. The World Health Organization and Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations Salmonella Risk Assessment found that reducing flock prevalence results in a direct proportional reduction in human health risk.
