MORGANTOWN – Last year, the Legislature passed the Truth in Food Labeling Act to require labeling of “analogue” food products derived from plants, insects or fungus and other additives, and “cell-cultured” food grown in a lab.
This year, the Senate is advancing an outright ban on lab-brown meat. The Agriculture Committee OK’d the bill on Wednesday without debate and sent it on to Judiciary.
SB 751 draws on the definition of lab-grown meat now in code: a food product derived by harvesting animal cells and artificially or chemically replicating those cells in a laboratory to produce tissue to approximate an egg, egg product, fish, fishery product, meat, meat food product, poultry, or poultry product.
Making, selling or distributing lab-grown meat would be a misdemeanor subject to a maximum $500 fine and up to a year in jail. The state health Department could suspend the permit of anyone suspected of the act. The accused would be entitled to notice of pending suspension and a hearing.
The ban would not apply to research.
If passed, the ban would take effect July 1 and sunset July 1, 2030.
Committee counsel told the members that a few other states have such bans. News reports show that Mississippi, Florida and Alabama all have bans in code. All three bans carry a fine up to $500. Mississippi’s and Alabama’s potential jail time is three months; Florida’s is 60 days.
