8 Colo. Code Regs. § 1202-19, pt. 1

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 1, January 10, 2025

Part 1 - [Effective 11/14/2024] DEFINITIONS

Unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions apply to these rules and words in the singular form shall be deemed to impart the plural and vice versa, as the case may demand:

1.1. "Accreditation" or "accredit" means a determination made by the commissioner that authorizes a private entity to conduct certification activities as a certifying agent under this Act.

1.2. "Act" means House Bill 20-1343, codified at section 35-21-201, et seq., of the Colorado Revised Statutes.

1.3. "Business owner or operator" means any person who owns or controls the operations of a business. Business owner or operator does not include a business owner or operator who engages in the sale or transport of shell eggs in the state at one or more business locations in the state if each business location owned or operated by the business owner or operator sells fewer than twenty-five cases of thirty dozen eggs per week, all business locations owned by or operated by the business owner or operator collectively sell fewer than one hundred cases of thirty dozen eggs per week, and the business owner or operator is not a farm owner or operator.

1.4. "Cage-free egg" means an egg produced by a hen that was housed in a Cage-free housing system.

1.5. "Cage-free housing system" means an indoor or outdoor controlled environment for egg-laying hens to which all of the following apply:

(I) For an indoor environment, the egg-laying hens are free to roam unrestricted except by the following:

(A) Exterior walls; and

(B) Interior fencing used to contain the entire egg-laying hen flock within the building or subdivide flocks into smaller groups if farm employees can walk through each contained or subdivided area to provide care to egg-laying hens and if each egg-laying hen has the minimum amount of usable floor space described in section 35-21-203(1)(b)(II), Colorado Revised Statutes;

(II) Egg-laying hens are provided enrichments that allow them to exhibit natural behaviors, including, at a minimum, scratch areas, perches, nest boxes, and dust bathing areas; and

(III) Farm employees can provide care while standing within the egg-laying hens' usable floor space. "Cage-free housing system" includes multi-tiered aviaries, partially slatted systems, and single-level all-litter floor systems. "Cage-free housing system" does not include systems commonly described as battery cages, colony cages, enriched cages, enriched colony cages, modified cages, convertible cages, furnished cages, or similar cage systems.

1.6. "Certification applicant" means a farm owner or operator who applies with the Department to have their egg production operation(s) certified.

1.7. "Certificate of compliance" means a written or electronic document issued by the commissioner to a farm owner or operator indicating that the shell eggs or egg products produced by that farm owner or operator were produced in compliance with the Act and which must be provided to a business owner or operator during the transfer of any shell egg and egg products.

1.8. "Certified operation" means the egg production operation by farm owner or operator, or portion of such operation, that is certified by a certifying agent as utilizing a system of egg-laying hen confinement as required by the Act.

1.9. "Certifying agent" means any private entity accredited by the Department as a third-party certifying agent for the purpose of certifying a production operation as a certified operation.

1.10. "Combination Food" means any egg product that is less than 90% eggs and has been combined with at least one other substantive food product.

1.11. "Egg product" means an egg of an egg-laying hen that is separated from the shell and intended for human food, whether in liquid, solid, dried, or frozen form, whether raw or cooked, and with (I) the egg yolk and egg white in their natural proportions; or (II) the egg yolk and egg white separated, mixed, or mixed and strained. "Egg product" does not include combination food products, including pancake mixes, cake mixes, cookies, pizzas, cookie dough, or ice cream, that include egg as one of multiple ingredients in the product; except that merely adding sugar, salt, water, seasoning, coloring, flavoring, preservatives, stabilizers, or similar food additives does not make an egg product a combination food product.

1.12. "Farm" means the land, building, support facilities, and other equipment that are wholly or partially used for the commercial production of animals or animal products used for food. "Farm" does not include live animal markets or official plants where mandatory inspection is maintained under the federal "Egg Products Inspection Act", 21 U.S.C. sec. 1031 et seq., as amended.

1.13. "Farm owner or operator" means a person who owns a farm or controls the operations of a farm. Farm owner or operator does not include a farm owner or operator with an annual shell egg production from three thousand or fewer egg-laying hens if all shell eggs sold in the state or transported in the state by the farm owner or operator are derived from three thousand or fewer egg-laying hens.

1.14. "Inspection" means the act of examining and evaluating the production, distribution, or retail operation of a farm owner or operator or a business owner or operator to determine compliance with the Act and the rules.

1.15. "Inspector" means any person retained or used by a certifying agent to conduct inspections of a farm owner or operator or a business owner or operator, or an authorized representative of the Department. Inspector includes process verification provider.

1.16. "Label" means a display of written, printed, or graphic material on the immediate container of a shell egg or egg product or any such material affixed to any covered product or affixed to a bulk container containing a shell egg or egg product, except for package liners or a display of written, printed, or graphic material which contains only information about the weight of the product.

1.17. "Labeling" means all written, printed, or graphic material accompanying a shell egg or egg product at any time or written, printed, or graphic material about the shell egg or egg product displayed at retail stores about the product.

1.18. "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, limited liability corporation, corporation, estate, trust, receiver, or syndicate.

1.19. "Process verification" means the act of confirming that the production, processing, handling, packaging, storing, transporting, and selling of shell eggs or egg products complies with the Act and the rules.

1.20. "Records" means any information in written, visual, or electronic form that documents the activities undertaken by a farm owner or operator, business owner or operator, or certifying agent to comply with the Act.

1.21. "Sale" means a commercial sale by a business that sells any item covered by section 35-21-201, et seq., Colorado Revised Statutes. "Sale" does not include any sale undertaken at an official plant where mandatory inspection is maintained under the federal "Egg Products Inspection Act", 21 U.S.C. sec. 1031 et seq., as amended.

1.22. "Shell egg" means a whole egg of an egg-laying hen in its shell form, intended for use as human food.

1.23. "Single-level all-litter floor system" means a cage-free housing system bedded with litter where egg-laying hens have limited or no access to elevated flat platforms.

1.24. "Split operation" means a farm owner or operator or a business owner or operator that produces or distributes shell eggs or egg products from operations that are both in conformance and out-of-conformance with the confinement standards of the Act.

1.25. "Title Document" means a document which in the regular course of business or financing is treated as adequately evidencing that the person in possession of shell eggs or egg products is entitled to receive, hold, and dispose of the document and the shell eggs or egg product it covers. Examples of such documents include bill of lading, dock warrant, dock receipt, warehouse receipt, or shipping invoices for an order for the delivery of shell eggs or egg products.

1.26. "Usable floor space" means

(I) the total square footage of floor space provided to each egg-laying hen, as calculated by dividing the total square footage of floor space provided to egg-laying hens in an enclosure by the number of egg-laying hens in that enclosure; and

(II) includes both ground space and elevated level or nearly level flat platforms upon which egg-laying hens can roost. "Usable floor space" does not include perches or ramps.

8 CCR 1202-19, pt. 1

45 CR 17, September 10, 2022, effective 9/30/2022

47 CR 19, October 10, 2024, effective 11/14/2024