Opinion ID: 209137
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Interim Regulations

Text: In the late 1980s, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) determined that the incidence and geographic spread of human illness resulting from exposure to Salmonella enteritidis serotype enteritidis (SE) bacteria were increasing. [1] In response to the increase, the Animal Plant Health and Inspection Service (APHIS), a USDA division responsible for preventing the spread of communicable diseases, determined that emergency regulations were necessary to control the spread of SE in poultry flocks. On February 16, 1990, USDA published interim regulations that restricted the interstate sale and transportation of eggs and poultry from flocks determined under the regulations to be SE-contaminated. Poultry Affected by Salmonella Enteritidis, 55 Fed.Reg. 5576 (Feb. 16, 1990) (codified at 9 C.F.R. §§ 82.30-82.36 (1991)). The interim regulations were effective immediately upon publication, USDA having determined that there is good cause for publishing this rule without prior opportunity for public comment, namely, the need for [i]mmediate action... to prevent harm to the egg-type chicken industry and the public. Id. at 5580. The interim regulations applied to flocks, defined as [a]ll the poultry on one premises, 9 C.F.R. § 82.30 (1991), and operated as follows. If a Federal or State representative determine[d] through epidemiologic investigation that [a] flock [was] the probable source of disease in an outbreak of [SE-caused] disease in humans or poultry, USDA designated the flock as a study flock. Id. § 82.32. A study flock was subsequently designated a test flock if either (1) one or more environmental test samples, i.e., manure samples and egg transport machinery samples ... collected and tested in accordance with procedures set forth in the interim regulations tested positive for SE, or (2) the person in control of the flock refused to allow or interfered with the collection of such samples. Id. § 82.32(b). At the time the interim regulations were published, USDA believed that evidence of SE in layer hens' environment meant that the hens were infected and would, therefore, be more likely to produce SE-contaminated eggs. See 55 Fed.Reg. at 5576 (describing the vertical (hen to egg) and horizontal (environment to hen) modes of SE transmission). Test flock status triggered restrictions on the interstate movement of eggs. Specifically, eggs from a test flock could be moved interstate only for uses requiring pasteurization, [2] and then only if the shipper obtained a permit and met other conditions. 9 C.F.R. § 82.33(a) (1991). Thus, the interim regulations prohibited the interstate shipment of test flock eggs for sale as table eggs. Specified numbers of the hens in test flocks were also required to undergo blood and internal-organ testing. Id. § 82.32(c). A test flock was designated an infected flock if the organs of one or more hens tested positive for SE. Id. Infected flocks were subject to the same interstate transportation restrictions as test flocks. Id. § 82.33(a). An infected flock retained its infected designation until either (1) the flock was retested in accordance with the regulations and no internal organ tested positive for SE or (2) the houses that contained the infected flock were depopulated, subjected to specified wet cleaning and disinfecting procedures, and repopulated with a new flock. Id. § 82.32(c).