A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought against a California law prohibiting the sale of eggs from hens kept in battery cages where they can’t move around or spread their wings. Six states had challenged California’s AB 1437 in February, claiming that it violated the Commerce and Supremacy Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The Center for Food Safety (CFS) had defended the law, stating that battery cages increase the risk to consumers of contracting Salmonella from eggs, and the group praised U.S. District Court Judge Kimberly Mueller’s decision. “AB 1437 is necessary to protect the public from unnecessary risk and prevent this unsafe method of egg production,” said CFS Senior Attorney Paige Tomaselli. “Battery cage eggs are 25 times more likely to harbor Salmonella than their cage-free counterparts. It’s a simple fact that these cages increase consumers’ risk of Salmonella poisoning.” Thursday’s dismissal held that the Plaintiff States of Alabama, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma don’t have standing to bring the lawsuit since the law only impacts a subset of egg producers who are planning not to comply with the law. The court will not allow the plaintiffs to amend their complaint. The 2010 law will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2015, and all eggs sold in the state of California must come from hens with enough room to move and spread their wings.