A judge in California has overturned the state’s ban on foie gras. The delicacy is made from fattened duck liver and is produced using “gavage” — a method of force-feeding a bird through a tube inserted in its mouth. The ban was passed in 2004 and went into effect in 2012. Its supporters argued that the production of foie gras is inhumane. Questions have also been raised about the food safety of foie gras. The argument, which is rejected by U.S. Department of Agriculture, is that force-fed birds develop bacteria or toxins in their blood, resulting in a disease that can prove fatal before slaughter. U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson issued the ruling on Wednesday, writing that the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act regulates the sale and distribution of foie gras and trumps California’s law. The ban had been challenged by California restaurant owners and foie gras producers in Canada and New York. Animal-rights groups immediately asked California Attorney General Kamala Harris to appeal the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Her office indicated the judge’s ruling was being reviewed.