8 Colo. Code Regs. § 1202-19, pt. 12
Statutory Authority:
The Commissioner of Agriculture adopts these rules pursuant to section 35-21-207(2) of the Colorado Revised Statutes.
Purpose:
The purpose of this rulemaking is to comply with the Act created by House Bill 20-1343 by establishing rules concerning the regulation of the production and sale of shell eggs and egg products, the inspection of farms, shell eggs, and egg products, and to ensure shell eggs and egg products sold in Colorado are produced in compliance with the Act.
Factual Policy and Issues:
The Department identified multiple terms that were not defined in the Act. To provide clarity to the regulated community as to the meaning of terms used in these rules, the Department has included definitions in Part 1. After the hearing and public comment, the Department included an additional term to address the regulated community's concern. The Department also added a provision to require any accredited certifying agent to disclose potential conflicts of interest in the shell egg or egg product industry.
The Act requires farm owners and operators document their compliance with the Act. Accordingly, the rules contain certification and recordkeeping requirements for farm owners or operators.
The Act requires business owners and operators who sell or transport for sale shell eggs or egg products in Colorado to retain a copy of the certificate of compliance issued by the commissioner. These rules contain recordkeeping requirements to ensure compliance under the Act.
The Act allows the commissioner to use a private inspection or process verification provider to ensure compliance with the Act. These rules contain requirements and procedures to accredit certifying agents to ensure compliance with the Act during both production and handling of shell eggs and egg products.
Statutory Authority:
The Commissioner of Agriculture adopts these rules pursuant to section 35-21-207(2) of the Colorado Revised Statutes.
Purpose:
The purposes of these amendments include: adding new definitions; modifying the section related to on-farm biosecurity procedures; updating portions of the certification provisions, including re-organizing previous language and requirements for ease-of-use and comprehension; adding an exemption for eggs produced in USDA Organic facilities; and updating for clarification the requirements for accredited certifying agents.
Factual Policy and Issues:
In reviewing the definitions section, the reviewers identified two key terms that had been used in the rule set without appropriate definition - "combination food" and "cage-free egg." The reviewers added definitions for these terms to clarify their meaning and use in the body of the rule.
The reviewers re-phrased the provision of 3.4.1 related to biosecurity procedures to make the responsibility for reviewing and determining a best course of action that of the certifying agent, or the commissioner's authorized representative, instead of the producer or producer's employees. The reviewers made this amendment to prevent any unnecessary denials of entry at the time of a necessary inspection.
In Part 5, the reviewers re-organized and streamlined the text to remove redundant provisions, provide greater coherence to the part, and clarify requirements for ease-of-comprehension for the regulated community.
Because hens certified by USDA Organic and the National Organic Program meet all the qualifications for cage-free, as set forth in this act, the reviewers added an exception in Part 7 to those eggs and egg products, permitting them to be labeled "organic" in lieu of stamped with "CO-CM." Additional changes in this part are the result of re-organizing the text for clarity.
The amendments to Part 8 reflect additional stream-lining, simplification, and clarification.
8 CCR 1202-19, pt. 12