A few years ago, the Arizona Department of Agriculture brokered a compromise among stakeholders interested in protecting the safety of Arizona’s supply of eggs, those interested in more humane treatment of egg-laying hens, and egg producers when they adopted rules phasing out caged environments for egg-laying hens. Arizona joined California, Oregon, Washington, Michigan, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island in outlawing the use of cages for egg laying chickens.
Starting on January 1, 2023, all eggs and egg products sold in Arizona are supposed to be from hens that are housed in accordance with the UEP Animal Husbandry Guidelines. The chickens are supposed to have at least one square foot of usable floor space per egg-laying hen. Beginning January 1, 2025, all eggs and egg products sold in Arizona are supposed to be from hens housed in a cage-free manner.
Last month, along came the “Pacific Legal Foundation”, petitioning the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council to throw out the cage free rule. Surprisingly, GRRC is considering the Pacific Legal Foundation’s proposal to throw out the Rule at their upcoming March 28 meeting.
Minimizing foodborne illness is a key component of protecting public health and welfare. When enacting the cage-free regulations, ADA reviewed science-based evidence and concluded that ensuring eggs produced and sold in our state come from cage-free facilities minimizes food safety risks and advance public health goals.
Eggs contaminated with Salmonella and Campylobacter are much less common when produced in cage-free environments
The science related to hen housing has not changed since last year, and the existing policy still better protects public health outcomes.
For these reasons, AZPHA Chicken Egg Cage Rule Comment GRRC AZPHA to the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council urging them to leave in place Arizona’s cage free law (Arizona Administrative Code R3-2-901 – R3-2-907) and reject the Pacific Legal Foundation’s petition at GRRC’s upcoming March 28, 2023 meeting.
