A new law will make it illegal for someone to operate a laboratory that provides services for the examination of emergency or regulatory condition of poultry and livestock without obtaining a certificate from the California Department of Food and Agriculture. 

On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom singed Senate Bill 703. The legislation was introduced by State Senator Melissa Hurtado. She has been a member of the State Senate since 2018, representing the Fresno area.

“Food safety plays an important role not only in our food supply chain, but also to our health,” Hurtado said, according to a press release. “By signing SB 703, California is further strengthening our food safety standards for poultry and livestock, which will improve food security, and provide further protections from harmful pathogens that could turn into the next pandemic or disease.” 

As Vice Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Hurtado said she hopes SB 703 will ensure that labs provide reliable results by allowing the California Department of Food and Agriculture to create laboratory certification standards.  

“CCA applauds Newsom for signing SB 703,” Kirk Wilbur, Vice President of Government Affairs for the California Cattlemen’s Association, said, according to a press release. “By providing the California Department of Food and Agriculture the regulatory authority to ensure the quality, accuracy and reproducibility of veterinary tests for conditions like foot-and-mouth disease and bovine brucellosis, this legislation will ensure that California’s veterinary labs avoid diagnostic defects that could disrupt our cattle herds, food-supply chain and trade relations.”

Hurtado has authored two other food related bills. Senate Bill 108, the Human Right to Food Act, would have, among other things, declared it a state policy that everyone should have access to sufficient, healthy food.

Since August, it has been held in committee. 

Her other legislation, Senate Bill 464 (Food for All Act), would provide food security to low-income immigrant workers by expanding eligibility for state funded nutrition benefits for anyone ineligible for Cal Fresh due to their immigration status. This has yet to be made into law, as it is still in committee.  

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