UPDATE (Feb. 13) — Nevada lawmakers have unanimously approved a measure aimed at lowering the costs of eggs across the state. The bill, approved by the Senate on Wednesday would temporarily suspend a law requiring retailers to sell cage-free eggs.
JJ Goicoechea, the head of the Nevada Department of Agriculture, says the state will not lower food safety standards.
“I want to get on the record right now and make it clear that that is not what this bill will do, nor is it anything that our agency would ever contemplate doing. FDA and USDA share the regulatory authority for egg safety, not the NDA. Nothing is changing there regardless of the manner in which these eggs are produced and how they get to us on the market.”
The bill now heads to Governor Joe Lombardo who is expected to sign the measure into law.
ORIGINAL REPORT — Nevada lawmakers are fast-tracking a measure aimed at lowering the costs of eggs across the state. The Assembly Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved a measure on Monday to temporarily suspend a law requiring retailers to sell cage-free eggs.
Assembly Bill 171 would allow the state quarantine officer to temporarily suspend Nevada’s cage-free egg law during shortages caused by disease outbreaks or natural disasters.
The H5N1 bird flu virus has created supply chain issues across the country.
Democratic Assemblymember Howard Watts is sponsoring the bill. He says lawmakers didn't foresee a bird-flu pandemic when the law was passed in 2021.
“It helps add additional tools and flexibility to our experts in the Department of Agriculture to help address the egg supply chain when we face an emergency situation such as a major animal disease outbreak.”
The bill also gives the Nevada Department of Agriculture the ability to secure eggs not normally sold in stores including Grade B eggs which are safe to eat, but are usually used to make liquid, frozen, and dried egg products
Lawmakers hope to have the bill on Governor Joe Lombardo’s desk by the end of the week.
