Colorado § 35-21-202 - Definitions.

§ 35-21-202. Definitions.

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.

Source: L. 2020: Entire part added, (HB 20-1343), ch. 217, p. 1071, § 1, effective September 14.