(a) “Act” means the Farm Animal Cruelty statute, as amended (Chapter 13.8 (commencing with section 25990) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code).

(b) “Audit trail” means records that are in sufficient detail to document the identification, source, supplier, transfer of ownership, transportation, storage, segregation, handling, packaging, distribution, and sale of whole veal meat that was derived from a calf confined in compliance with sections 25991 and 25992 of the Health and Safety Code and this Article, and from veal producers that hold a valid certification as a certified operation issued pursuant to Article 5 of this Chapter.

(c) “Calf” means any calf of the bovine species kept for the purpose of producing the food product described as veal.

(d) “Certified operation” means as defined in section 1326(e) of this Chapter.

(e) “Certifying agent” means as defined in section 1326(f) of this Chapter.

(f) “Commercial sale” for purposes of section 25991(o) of the Health and Safety Code and this Article means to sell, exchange, barter, trade, transfer title or possession, or distribute, conditional or otherwise, in California commerce including, but not limited to, transactions by a retailer with a consumer and electronic transactions made using the internet. It shall not include any of the following transactions or transfers of possession, which apply only to a specific transaction listed below, not to the covered product itself, and therefore does not apply to all subsequent commercial sales of whole veal meat:

(g) “Consumer” means any person who purchases whole veal meat, as defined in section 25991(v) of the Health and Safety Code and this Article, for the sole purpose of their own personal use or consumption, or that purchases or consumes cooked veal meat at a restaurant, food facility, or other business that serves cooked or ready-to-eat veal meat to customers or patrons.

(h) “Container” means any box, case, basket, tote, can, carton, sack, pouch, bag, package, wrapper, receptacle, or any other device which is used to facilitate the handling, distribution, transportation, or commercial sale of whole veal meat.

(i) “Cottage food operation” means an establishment as defined in section 113758 of the Health and Safety Code.

(j) “Curing agents” for purposes of section 25991(v) of the Health and Safety Code and this Article means any substance listed and described in section 424.21(c) of Title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations (January 2021), hereby incorporated by reference.

(k) “Cut” for purposes of section 25991(v) of the Health and Safety Code and this Article means any uncooked primal, wholesale, sub-primal or retail cut including, but not limited to, those identified and described in the United States Department of Agriculture's Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications: Fresh Veal Series 300 (November 2014 Edition) and the 2014 Uniform Retail Meat Identity Standards developed by the Industry-Wide Cooperative Meat Identification Standards Committee, hereby incorporated by reference, but shall exclude any ground or otherwise comminuted meat products.

(l) “Department” means the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

(m) “Document of title” means a document which in the regular course of business or financing is treated as adequately evidencing that the person in possession of it is entitled to receive, hold, and dispose of the document and the whole veal meat it covers. Examples of such documents include, but are not limited to, bill of lading, dock warrant, dock receipt, warehouse receipt, or an order for the delivery of whole veal meat.

(n) “Enclosure” means a structure used to confine a covered animal or animals. For purposes of this subsection and this Article, a structure means any cage, crate, pen, or other construction used to confine a calf.

(o) “End-user” means any of the following:

(p) “Flavoring” for purposes of section 25991(v) of the Health and Safety Code and this Article means any substance, whether artificial or natural, the function of which is to impart flavor rather than nutrition, and includes the substances listed and described in sections 172.510, 172.515(b), 182.10, 182.20, 182.40, and 182.50, and substances with a use described as a flavoring, flavoring agent, or flavoring enhancer in Part 184 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (April 2021), hereby incorporated by reference.

(q) “Food facility” means a facility as defined in section 113789 of the Health and Safety Code.

(r) “Food processing facility” means a facility as defined in section 109947 of the Health and Safety Code.

(s) “Kept for the purpose of producing” for purposes of section 25991(d) of the Health and Safety Code and this Article means keeping a calf of the bovine species that is, or is intended to be, slaughtered at more than 21 days of age or more than 150 pounds in liveweight for the production of food described, advertised, represented, identified, or labeled as veal.

(t) “Person” means any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, limited liability company, corporation, estate, trust, receiver, or syndicate.

(u) “Ready-to-eat (RTE)” means in a form that is edible without additional preparation to achieve food safety and may receive additional preparation for palatability or aesthetic, gastronomic, or culinary purposes. RTE product is not required to bear a safe-handling instruction (as required for non-RTE products by sections 317.2(l) and 381.125(b)) of Title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations (January 2021), hereby incorporated by reference, or other labeling that directs that the product must be cooked or otherwise treated for safety and can include frozen meat products.

(v) “Records” means any information in written, visual, or electronic form that documents the activities undertaken by a producer, distributor, or certifying agent to comply with the Act and this Chapter.

(w) “Requiring cooking” for the purposes of section 25991(r) of the Health and Safety Code and this Article means not ready-to-eat in the condition sold, offered for sale, or otherwise distributed.

(x) “Retailer” means a facility location that conducts commercial sales of whole veal meat to a consumer.

(y) “Seasoning” for purposes of section 25991(v) of the Health and Safety Code and this Article is synonymous with the term “spice” and means any aromatic vegetable substance in the whole, broken, or ground form, whose primary function in food is seasoning rather than nutritional and from which no portion of any volatile oil or other flavoring principle has been removed. Spices include onions, garlic, peppers, and the spices listed in section 182.10 and Part 184 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (April 2021), hereby incorporated by reference.

(z) “Takes physical possession” for the purposes of section 25991(o) of the Health and Safety Code and this Article means when the whole veal meat is delivered to the buyer in California, regardless of whether the title transfer takes place outside of the state, whether the seller and buyer have provided otherwise by a contract, or whether an agent of the buyer accepts the whole veal meat outside of the state for transportation into California.

(aa) “Uncooked” means requiring cooking prior to human consumption.

(bb) “Usable floorspace” shall be calculated by dividing the total square footage of floorspace provided to calves in an enclosure by the number of calves in the enclosure. This floorspace shall also include ground-space for enclosures that are outdoor pens or pastures accessible at all times by all calves confined in the enclosure.

(cc) “Veal distributor” means a person or facility engaged in the business of commercial sales or distribution of whole veal meat (as a veal producer or otherwise) to an end-user in California. This definition shall not apply to a person or facility that only receives whole veal meat as an end-user.

(dd) “Veal producer” means a person engaged in the business of keeping, confining, and/or housing a calf of the bovine species, to be slaughtered at more than 21 days of age or more than 150 pounds, for the purpose of producing the human food product described, advertised, represented, identified, or labeled as veal. This definition shall not apply to the following:

(ee) “Whole veal meat” means any uncooked cut of veal, including chop, ribs, riblet, loin, shank, leg, roast, brisket, steak, sirloin, or cutlet, that is comprised entirely of veal meat, except for seasoning, curing agents, coloring, flavoring, preservatives, and similar meat additives. Whole veal meat does not include combination food products, including soups, sandwiches, pizzas, hotdogs, or similar processed or prepared food products, that are comprised of more than veal meat, seasoning, curing agents, coloring, flavoring, preservatives, and similar meat additives.