By Bob Katzen

Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced a settlement agreement with two food provision companies for violating Massachusetts’s Animal Cruelty Prevention Law. The agreement resolves allegations that the companies misled Massachusetts consumers and unfairly competed in the marketplace by selling products derived from farm animals confined in a cruel and unlawful manner.

The companies, Connecticut-based City Line Distributors LLC and New Hampshire-based Poultry Products Company of New England LLC, each operating in Massachusetts as Prime Source Foods, will pay $495,000 in penalties to the state and must refrain from selling noncompliant meat and eggs to Massachusetts consumers. The settlement also requires Prime Source to implement resource planning systems to prevent future noncompliance.

“Massachusetts consumers deserve to know that the meat and egg products they purchase do not come from cruelly treated farm animals,” said Campbell. “I will continue working to ensure that all products sold in the commonwealth comply with our legal standards and that no company gets an unfair advantage by breaking the law.”

“MDAR has long recognized that animal welfare is directly tied to animal health,” said Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) Commissioner Ashley Randle. MDAR has long recognized that animal welfare is directly tied to animal health. Massachusetts residents overwhelmingly support the humane treatment of animals within our food system to promote high-quality food and ethical agricultural practices,” said Randle. “We are grateful for our partnership with the Attorney General’s Office to enforce these vital standards on behalf of our consumers and farmers