As used in this part 2, unless the context otherwise
requires:
(1) Business owner or operator means any person who owns or controls the
operations of a business.
(2) (a) 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);
(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.
(b) Cage-free housing system includes multi-tiered aviaries, partially
slatted systems, and single-level all-litter floor systems.
(c) 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.
(3) Commissioner means the commissioner of agriculture.
(4) Egg-laying hen means a female domesticated chicken, turkey, duck,
goose, or guinea fowl kept for the purpose of commercial egg production.
(5) (a) 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.
(b) 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.
(6) Enclosure means a structure used to confine an egg-laying hen.
(7) (a) 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.
(b) 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.
(8) Farm owner or operator means a person that owns a farm or controls
the operations of a farm.
(9) Multi-tiered aviary means a cage-free housing system where egg-laying hens have unfettered access to multiple elevated platforms that provide the
egg-laying hens with usable floor space both on top of and underneath the
platforms.
(10) Partially slatted system means a cage-free housing system where
egg-laying hens have unfettered access to elevated flat platforms under which
manure drops through the flooring to a pit or litter removal belt below the platform.
(11) Sale means a commercial sale by a business that sells any item
covered by this part 2. 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.
(12) Shell egg means a whole egg of an egg-laying hen in its shell form,
intended for use as human food.
(13) 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.
(14) (a) Usable floor space:
(I) Means 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.
(b) Usable floor space does not include perches or ramps.