SECTIONS 25995-25997.1 - California Statutes

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE

SECTION 25995-25997.1

25995. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) According to the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Production,
food animals that are treated well and provided with at least
minimum accommodation of their natural behaviors and physical needs
are healthier and safer for human consumption.
(b) A key finding from the World Health Organization and Food and
Agricultural Organization of the United Nations Salmonella Risk
Assessment was that reducing flock prevalence results in a directly
proportional reduction in human health risk.
(c) Egg-laying hens subjected to stress are more likely to have
higher levels of pathogens in their intestines and the conditions
increase the likelihood that consumers will be exposed to higher
levels of food-borne pathogens.
(d) Salmonella is the most commonly diagnosed food-borne illness
in the United States.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature 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.

25996. Commencing January 1, 2015, a shelled egg may not be sold or
contracted for sale for human consumption in California if it is the
product of an egg-laying hen that was confined on a farm or place
that is not in compliance with animal care standards set forth in
Chapter 13.8 (commencing with Section 25990).

25997. Any person who violates this chapter is guilty of a
misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine
not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment in the
county jail for a period not to exceed 180 days or by both that fine
and imprisonment.

25997.1. The provisions of this chapter are in addition to, and not
in lieu of, any other laws protecting animal welfare, including the
Penal Code. This chapter shall not be construed to limit any state
law or regulation protecting the welfare of animals, nor shall
anything in this chapter prevent a local governing body from adopting
and enforcing its own animal welfare laws and regulations.