U.S. District Judge William Young has largely upheld Massachusetts’ Question 3. Young dismissed arguments from Missouri-based pork producer Triumph Foods and out-of-state hog farmers that the Federal Meat Inspection Act preempted the state law.
The 2016 ballot initiative – similar to California’s Proposition 12 – bans the sale of pork from hogs born to sows raised in housing that doesn’t comply with Massachusetts’ prescriptive standards.
“We are disappointed by the ruling in the Triumph case. However, this decision does not affect the ground pork ruling, which will significantly benefit the industry and, ultimately, the consumers of Massachusetts,” the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) said in a statement.
NPPC recently applauded the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) for updating its FAQ document to provide much need clarity concerning the treatment of ground pork under Question 3.
The vast majority of pork currently produced in the U.S. does not meet the state’s arbitrary standards, NPPC points out in Capital Update.
In its late May update to the Question 3 FAQ, MDAR reversed its prior determination that ground pork was subject to Question 3.
“Following NPPC’s continued engagement on the issue, including a January NPPC Board of Directors meeting with coalition partners in Boston, MDAR’s revised FAQ now clarifies that, in addition to not covering sausage, Question 3 also does not cover ground or otherwise comminuted pork (pork that has been diced, chopped, or cut into “smaller” pieces) since it is no longer whole pork meat,” NPPC wrote.
NPPC’s Take
NPPC says the release of this updated FAQ is a significant development that should provide additional direction and certainty to the marketplace regarding the sale of pork in Massachusetts and New England.
“As NPPC has consistently heard from its partners in the distribution and restaurant industry, MDAR’s original decision to require ground pork to be Q3 compliant caused significant chaos and confusion for restaurants, especially ethnic restaurants, that rely on ground pork in their menus,” NPPC wrote.
Having worked hard to convince Massachusetts to reverse its previous position on ground pork, NPPC applauds this commonsense solution which should relieve pressure on supplying ground pork into Massachusetts.
“As Massachusetts continues to work on its implementation of Question 3, NPPC will continue to engage with our broad coalition of partners to ensure a continued supply of pork to Massachusetts consumers,” NPPC noted.
