TITLE 2. AGRICULTURE

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES

Fast-Track Regulation

Title of Regulation: 2VAC5-590. Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Tolerances and Prohibitions Applicable to Ground Beef (repealing 2VAC5-590-10, 2VAC5-590-20).

Statutory Authority: §§ 3.2-5101 and 3.2-5121 of the Code of Virginia.

Public Hearing Information: No public hearing is currently scheduled.

Public Comment Deadline: January 14, 2026.

Effective Date: January 29, 2026.

Agency Contact: Pamela Miles, Program Manager, Office of Dairy and Foods, Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23218, telephone (804) 786-8910, fax (804) 371-7792, TDD (800) 828-1120, or email pamela.miles@vdacs.virginia.gov.

Basis: Section 3.2-109 of the Code of Virginia establishes the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services as a policy board with the authority to adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of Title 3.2 of the Code of Virginia. Section 3.2-5101 of the Code of Virginia authorizes the board to adopt regulations that will promote honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers that purchase food products, including regulations that establish standards of identity and tolerances or limits of variability. Section 3.2-5121 of the Code of Virginia grants the board authority to adopt regulations for the efficient enforcement of Article 3 (§ 32.-5120 et seq.) of Chapter 51 of the Code of Virginia pertaining to adulteration, misbranding, and false advertising of food.

Purpose: The repeal of this regulation will help to remove an unnecessary and additional regulatory burden on businesses subject to this regulation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service regulation and the Virginia Food and Drink Law currently provide sufficient protection to consumers in the Commonwealth by ensuring that sausage products are not adulterated or misbranded. Therefore, the repeal of this regulation will not adversely affect the health, safety, or welfare of citizens in the Commonwealth.

Rationale for Using Fast-Track Rulemaking Process: The repeal of this regulation is anticipated to be noncontroversial because the regulation's essential elements to ensure that ground beef products contain no more than the maximum allowable fat content and that ground beef products marketed in Virginia are accurately represented to the consumer are covered by federal and other Virginia regulations and by the Virginia Food and Drink Law (§ 3.2-5100 et seq. of the Code of Virginia).

Substance: This regulatory action will repeal Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Tolerances and Prohibitions Applicable to Ground Beef (2VAC5-590).

Issues: The public will not experience any advantage or disadvantage from the repeal of this regulation because the department does not currently rely on the regulation and has not needed to enforce the provisions of the regulation. Therefore, the public will experience no change in circumstances due to the repeal of this regulation. There is an advantage to the agency to repeal this regulation, as the agency will no longer need to maintain or review this unused regulatory text. The repeal of this regulation does not disadvantage the agency.

Department of Planning and Budget Economic Impact Analysis:

The Department of Planning and Budget (DPB) has analyzed the economic impact of this proposed regulation in accordance with § 2.2-4007.04 of the Code of Virginia and Executive Order 19. The analysis presented represents DPB's best estimate of the potential economic impacts as of the date of this analysis.¹

Summary of the Proposed Amendments to Regulation. The Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services (board) proposes to repeal the Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Tolerances and Prohibitions Applicable to Ground Beef (2VAC5-590).

Background. According to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), the requirements pertaining to the content of ground beef prescribed in 2VAC5-590 are adequately covered by the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and by the Virginia Food and Drink Law. The agency adds that the requirements in 2VAC5-590 are effectively duplicated by another VDACS regulation, the Retail Food Establishment Regulations (2VAC5-585), which also references the CFR (21 CFR Parts 131-169, and 9 CFR Parts 319. The agency also notes that VDACS inspectors will continue to inspect ground beef made in retail food establishments after 2VAC5-590 is repealed.

Estimated Benefits and Costs. Since the board is proposing to repeal requirements that are effectively duplicated in another regulation that will continue to be in effect, and the agency notes that inspections will continue to occur, then repealing 2VAC5-590 would have no impact in practice.

Businesses and Other Entities Affected. The Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Tolerances and Prohibitions Applicable to Ground Beef (2VAC5-590) apply to retail establishments that make ground beef such as a grocery stores and meat markets. Since the requirements proposed for repeal are, as described above, duplicated in another regulation that will continue to be in effect, no entity is affected in practice by the proposed action. The Code of Virginia requires DPB to assess whether an adverse impact may result from the proposed regulation.² An adverse impact is indicated if there is any increase in net cost or reduction in net benefit for any entity, even if the benefits exceed the costs for all entities combined.³ Since the proposal neither increases costs nor reduces benefits, no adverse impact is indicated.

Small Businesses⁴ Affected.⁵ The proposed repeal of the regulation does not adversely affect small businesses.

Localities⁶ Affected.⁷ The proposed repeal of the regulation neither disproportionally affects particular localities nor affects costs for local governments.

Projected Impact on Employment. The proposed repeal of the regulation does not affect total employment.

Effects on the Use and Value of Private Property. The proposed repeal of the regulation does not affect the use and value of private property or real estate development costs.

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¹ Section 2.2-4007.04 of the Code of Virginia requires that such economic impact analyses determine the public benefits and costs of the proposed amendments. Further the analysis should include but not be limited to: (1) the projected number of businesses or other entities to whom the proposed regulatory action would apply, (2) the identity of any localities and types of businesses or other entities particularly affected, (3) the projected number of persons and employment positions to be affected, (4) the projected costs to affected businesses or entities to implement or comply with the regulation, and (5) the impact on the use and value of private property.

² Pursuant to § 2.2-4007.04 D: In the event this economic impact analysis reveals that the proposed regulation would have an adverse economic impact on businesses or would impose a significant adverse economic impact on a locality, business, or entity particularly affected, the Department of Planning and Budget shall advise the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Senate Committee on Finance. Statute does not define "adverse impact," state whether only Virginia entities should be considered, nor indicate whether an adverse impact results from regulatory requirements mandated by legislation.

³ Statute does not define "adverse impact," state whether only Virginia entities should be considered, nor indicate whether an adverse impact results from regulatory requirements mandated by legislation. As a result, DPB has adopted a definition of adverse impact that assesses changes in net costs and benefits for each affected Virginia entity that directly results from discretionary changes to the regulation.

⁴ Pursuant to § 2.2-4007.04, small business is defined as "a business entity, including its affiliates, that (i) is independently owned and operated and (ii) employs fewer than 500 full-time employees or has gross annual sales of less than $6 million."

⁵ If the proposed regulatory action may have an adverse effect on small businesses, § 2.2-4007.04 requires that such economic impact analyses include: (1) an identification and estimate of the number of small businesses subject to the proposed regulation, (2) the projected reporting, recordkeeping, and other administrative costs required for small businesses to comply with the proposed regulation, including the type of professional skills necessary for preparing required reports and other documents, (3) a statement of the probable effect of the proposed regulation on affected small businesses, and (4) a description of any less intrusive or less costly alternative methods of achieving the purpose of the proposed regulation. Additionally, pursuant to § 2.2-4007.1 of the Code of Virginia, if there is a finding that a proposed regulation may have an adverse impact on small business, the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules shall be notified.

⁶ "Locality" can refer to either local governments or the locations in the Commonwealth where the activities relevant to the regulatory change are most likely to occur.

⁷ Section 2.2-4007.04 defines "particularly affected" as bearing disproportionate material impact.

Agency Response to Economic Impact Analysis: The Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services concurs with the economic impact analysis prepared by the Department of Planning and Budget.

Summary:

This action repeals Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Tolerances and Prohibitions Applicable to Ground Beef (2VAC5-590), which provides basic requirements for labeling and fat declarations for ground beef being offered for sale in Virginia. The repeal of this regulation is appropriate because the essential elements to ensure that ground beef products contain no more than the maximum allowable fat content and that ground beef products marketed in Virginia are accurately represented to the consumer are adequately covered by U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service regulations (9 CFR Chapter III) and by the prohibitions on adulterated and misbranded food included in the Virginia Food and Drink Law (§ 3.2-5100 et seq. of the Code of Virginia).