Cite as: 539 U. S. 59 (2003)
Opinion of the Court
calcium, lactose, and other nutrients). Cal. Food & Agric. Code Ann. § 38211 (West 2001). Federal standards require that reduced fat milk contain only 8.25 percent solids-not-fat. See 21 CFR §§ 131.110, 101.62 (2002). Some of California's standards were arguably pre-empted by Congress' enactment of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990, 104 Stat. 2353, which contains a prohibition against the application of state quality standards to foods moving in interstate commerce. See 21 U. S. C. § 343-1(a). The District Court so held in Shamrock Farms Co. v. Veneman, No. Civ- S-95-318 (ED Cal., Sept. 25, 1996). In response to that decision, California sought an exemption from both the FDA and Congress. See Shamrock Farms, 146 F. 3d, at 1180. Before the FDA acted, Congress responded favorably with the enactment of the statute that governs our disposition of these cases. That statute, § 144 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, provides:
"Nothing in this Act or any other provision of law shall be construed to preempt, prohibit, or otherwise limit the authority of the State of California, directly or indirectly, to establish or continue to effect any law, regulation, or requirement regarding— "(1) the percentage of milk solids or solids not fat in fluid milk products sold at retail or marketed in the State of California; or "(2) the labeling of such fluid milk products with regard to milk solids or solids not fat." 7 U. S. C. § 7254.
Thereafter, Shamrock Farms brought another suit against the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture challenging the validity of both the State's compositional standards and its milk pricing and pooling laws. In that case, the Court of Appeals held that § 144 had immunized California's marketing programs as well as the compositional standards from a negative Commerce Clause chal-
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