California Egg Standards Change January 1st

Proposition 2 requires farm animals have enough space to turn around, stand up, lie down and stretch their limbs. California lawmakers expanded the provisions to apply to all hens laying eggs sold in the state.

Egg farmers sued in 2012 on grounds that the law is unconstitutionally vague. The measure has prompted concerns about an egg shortage. But Ronald Fong with the California Grocers Association says that's unlikely.

“The retailers that are hearing from their manufacturers saying 'I’m not going to be able to supply you with enough eggs to get you through however many eggs you sell per week,' will go to a second supplier," says Fong. "Somebody will sell retailers eggs.”

Fong says there is no dispute that egg prices have gone up in the past month. He says in some cases they've gone up as much as 35-percent.

But he says it’s not necessarily a result of Proposition 2.

“I have also heard from other egg manufacturers that it had nothing to do with Prop 2 that it really has to do with market conditions," says Fong.

A statement from the Association of California Egg Farmers says its members are working diligently to meet the law’s requirements and the expectations of consumers.