WASHINGTON — The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) applauded the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ (MDAR) reversal of the state’s Question 3 (Q3) regulations regarding ground pork.

The trade association first negotiated a settlement with Massachusetts over the transshipment provision of Q3 nearly a year ago with many follow-up discussions surrounding the treatment of ground pork.

In its late May update to the Q3 Frequently Asked Questions document, MDAR reversed its prior determination that ground pork was subject to Q3. In addition to not covering sausage, Q3 does not cover ground or otherwise comminuted pork (pork that has been diced, chopped or cut into smaller pieces) since it is no longer whole-muscle pork meat.

MDAR added that Massachusetts will temporarily not enforce its Q3 regulations to pork products that were transshipped through Massachusetts for delivery to other states, in line with the recent settlement agreement with NPPC and coalition of industry groups.

“As NPPC has consistently heard from its partners in the distribution and restaurant industry, MDAR’s original decision to require ground pork to be Q3 compliant caused significant chaos and confusion for restaurants, especially ethnic restaurants, that rely on ground pork in their menus,” NPPC said in its latest capital update. “NPPC has worked hard to convince Massachusetts to reverse its previous position on ground pork and applauds this commonsense solution, which should relieve pressure on supplying ground pork into Massachusetts. As Massachusetts continues to work on its implementation of Question 3, NPPC will continue to engage with our broad coalition of partners to ensure a continued supply of pork to Massachusetts consumers.”