Company changed its plans to stop selling certain products, but changed plans after implementation of Prop 12 was delayed by a judge
Seaboard Foods said it will resume shipments of pork to California after a judge delayed the implementation of the state’s Proposition 12 enforcement, according to a Reuters report.
On January 21, a judge in the Sacramento County Superior Court in California ruled that enforcement of the state’s Proposition 12 enforcement will be delayed 180 days.
Proposition 12, which aims for higher welfare standards for livestock and poultry, was voted into law in November 2018, but groups such as the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) say the state is two years delayed in finalizing the regulations for the law. The law bars the sale of pork, eggs or veal from animals that were not raised under certain welfare standards.
Seaboard had said it would stop selling certain whole pork products in California because of the law but changed its plans after the judge’s ruling. The company said it is converting some farms to comply with the law and expects to have Proposition 12-compliant pork to sell to California within this year, Reuters said.
In September, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and the National Pork Producers Council asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take their case against Proposition 12. AFBF has said the California judge’s ruling underscores the need for a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the matter.
In a conference call with reporters this week, Tyson Foods executives acknowledged that Proposition 12 has created complications for their access to California’s market and they are still uncertain on exactly what effect this will have on the industry in the near future.
