| 1 | | - | MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE 2025 Regular Session To: Agriculture By: Representatives Mangold, Carpenter, Hale House Bill 913 (As Sent to Governor) AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR LABELING REQUIREMENTS FOR MEAT AND MEAT SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS IN AN EFFORT TO PREVENT CONSUMER CONFUSION; TO DEFINE TERMINOLOGY USED IN THIS ACT; TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SHALL INSPECT AN INVENTORY OF FOOD PRODUCTS OFFERED FOR SALE OR SOLD AT A FOOD PROCESSING PLANT, RETAIL OR FOOD ESTABLISHMENT BASED ON A CREDIBLE COMPLAINT; TO PRESCRIBE THE CRITERIA THAT ALLOWS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF MISBRANDED MEAT PRODUCTS; TO PROHIBIT FOOD PROCESSING PLANTS, RETAIL AND FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS FROM OFFERING FOR SALE OR SELL A FOOD PRODUCT THAT IS MISBRANDED AS A MEAT PRODUCT; TO PRESCRIBE ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS THAT MAY BE TAKEN BY THE DEPARTMENT AGAINST ENTITIES THAT VIOLATE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; TO PRESCRIBE CIVIL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS; TO PRESCRIBE THE MANNER BY WHICH ACCUSED VIOLATORS WHO HAVE RECEIVED THE IMPOSITION OF A CIVIL PENALTY TO CONTEST AND APPEAL THE DECISION OF THE DEPARTMENT TO IMPOSE SUCH PENALTY; TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOT SUSPEND OR REVOKE A LICENSE ISSUED TO A FOOD PROCESSING PLANT, RETAIL OR FOOD ESTABLISHMENT FOR VIOLATIONS; TO REQUIRE THE EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING, THE BOARDS OF TRUSTEES OF PUBLIC COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES AND LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS TO ESTABLISH POLICIES TO PREVENT THE PURCHASE OF FOOD PRODUCTS THAT ARE MISBRANDED AS A MEAT PRODUCT OR IS A CULTIVATED-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCT; TO REQUIRE ALL RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS OF FOOD PRODUCTS, MEATS, MEAT-FOOD PRODUCTS, CULTIVATED-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS, MANUFACTURED-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS, INSECT-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS TO INFORM CONSUMERS OF THE PRODUCTS' AUTHENTICITY AS A MEAT OR NONMEAT PRODUCT WITH APPROPRIATE LABELING AT THE FINAL POINT OF SALE; TO PRESCRIBE THE REQUIRED METHOD OF NOTIFICATION; TO PROVIDE THAT THE COMMISSIONER MAY REQUIRE CERTAIN ENTITIES TO MAINTAIN A VERIFIABLE RECORD-KEEPING AUDIT TRAIL FOR PURPOSES OF VERIFYING COMPLIANCE; TO REQUIRE DISTRIBUTORS OR WHOLESALERS ENGAGED IN THE BUSINESS OF SUPPLYING MEAT, MEAT-FOOD PRODUCTS, CULTIVATED-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS, MANUFACTURED-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS, INSECT-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS AND PLANT-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS TO A RETAILER OR FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO THE RETAILER OR FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT INDICATING THE AUTHENTICITY OF PRODUCT AS A MEAT OR NONMEAT; TO AMEND SECTIONS 75-35-3, 75-35-15, 75-33-3 AND 75-33-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: SECTION 1. As used in Sections 1 through 8 of this act, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Agricultural food animal" means a domesticated animal belonging to the bovine, caprine, ovine, or porcine species; or live domestic fowl limited to chickens or turkeys. (b) "Cultivated-protein food product" means a food product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from an agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from manufacturing cells, in which one or more stem cells are initially isolated from an agricultural food animal, are grown in vitro, and may be manipulated, as part of a manufacturing operation. (c) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce. (d) "Food processing plant" means a commercial operation that manufactures, packages, labels or stores food for human consumption and does not provide food directly to a consumer. The term does not include any of the following: (i) A premises covered by the legalized sale of beer, light spirit products and light wines under the provisions of Chapter 3, Title 67, Mississippi Code of 1972; (ii) A premises of a residence in which honey is stored, prepared, packaged, including by placement in a container, labeled or from which honey is distributed, as regulated under the provisions of Chapter 29, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972; (iii) The premises of a raw milk dairy where raw milk is produced, processed, labeled, marketed, or distributed by a raw milk producer in compliance with Chapter 31, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972; or (iv) The premises of a raw milk dairy where a raw milk product or raw milk dairy product is manufactured, labeled, marketed or distributed by a raw milk producer in compliance with Chapter 31, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972. (e) "Food product" means a perishable or nonperishable item stored in a container or package, if the item is fit for human consumption. (f) "Identifying meat term" means any word or phrase that states, indicates, suggests, or describes a meat product, regardless of whether the word or phrase is used individually, as a portmanteau, or as a compound word. "Identifying meat term" includes, but is not limited to, any of the following: (i) A common name for the species of the agricultural food animal subject to slaughter and processing, including a calf or cow, chicken, goat or kid, hog or pig, poultry, lamb or sheep or turkey. (ii) A common name for a characteristic of a species of the agricultural food animal subject to slaughter and processing based on age, breed or sex. (iii) Meat, including: 1. Beef or veal; 2. Broiler, fryer, poulet or yearling; 3. Cabrito or chevon; 4. Lamb or mutton; 5. Pork; 6. A common name used to describe a major cut of a meat of an agricultural food animal slaughtered and processed, including: a. A major meat cut specified in 9 CFR Section 317.344; b. A poultry product such as breast, drumstick, giblet, thigh or wing; or c. The common name of an organ or offal, including gizzard, heart, liver, kidney or tongue; and 7. Any other common name that a reasonable purchaser would immediately and exclusively associate with a meat product prepared for sale in normal commercial channels such as bacon, baloney, bologna, bone, brat or bratwurst, brisket, burger or hamburger, butt, chop, chuck, cold cut, cutlet, filet, flat iron, frank or frankfurter, ham, hock, hot dog, jerky, liverwurst, loin, London broil, lunch meat, New York strip, pepperoni, porterhouse, ribeye, roast, rib or sparerib, salami, sausage, shank, sirloin, tenderloin, or a comparable word or phrase as approved by the department. (g) "Insect-protein food product" means a food product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from an agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from manufacturing insect parts. (h) "Label" means a display of written, printed or graphic matter placed upon any container storing a food product that is offered for sale or sold on a wholesale or retail basis, regardless of whether the label is printed on the container's packaging or a sticker affixed to the container. (i) "Manufactured-protein food product" means a cultivated-protein food product, insect-protein food product or plant-protein food product. (j) "Meat processing" means the handling, preparation, and slaughter of an agricultural food animal; the dressing of its carcass; or the cutting, storage, and packaging of its tissue or other parts as a food product. (k) "Meat product" means a food product derived from meat processing. (l) "Plant-protein food product" means a food product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue found in a species of agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from manufacturing plant parts. (m) "Qualifying term" means a word, compound word or phrase that would clearly disclose to a reasonable purchaser of meat products from a food processing plant that a food product is not a meat product. "Qualifying term" includes, but is not limited to, cell-cultivated, cell-cultured, fake, grown in a lab, imitation, insect, insect-based, insect-protein, lab-created, lab-grown, meat free, meatless, plant, plant-based, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian, veggie, or a comparable word or phrase as approved by the department. (n) "Regulatory authority" means the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, the State Department of Health, or the United States Department of Agriculture, with whom the Department of Agriculture and Commerce has a cooperative relationship under Section 75-35-201 for the purpose of carrying out the enforcement of this act pursuant to authority granted in Section 75-35-203. SECTION 2. (1) In conducting a routine inspection of the premises of a food processing plant licensed under Chapter 33, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972, retail or food establishment, the Department of Agriculture and Commerce is not required to determine if any food product located on the premises is misbranded as a meat product as provided in Section 3 of this act. (2) The department shall inspect an inventory of food products offered for sale or sold at a food processing plant, retail or food establishment based on a credible complaint that the food products are misbranded as meat products as provided in Section 3 of this act. (3) The department shall have the same powers to inspect a food processing plant under this act as it does under Chapters 33 and 35, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972. SECTION 3. (1) A food product is misbranded as a meat product if all of the following apply: (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), the food product is a manufactured-protein food product or the food product contains a manufactured-protein food product; (b) The food product is not misbranded as a meat product only because it contains a trace amount of one or more plant-protein food products as determined by the department; (c) The food product is offered for sale or sold by a food processing plant; (d) A label that is part of or placed on the package or other container storing the food product includes an identifying meat term; and (e) Paragraph (d) does not apply if the label contains a conspicuous and prominent qualifying term in close proximity to an identifying meat term. (2) A food processing plant, retail or food establishment shall not offer for sale or sell a food product that is misbranded as a meat product as provided in this section. SECTION 4. (1) If the department has reasonable cause to believe that a food processing plant, retail or food establishment is offering for sale or selling a food product that is misbranded as a meat product in violation of Section 3 of this act, the department shall issue a stop order. Upon being issued the stop order, the food processing plant shall not offer for sale or sell the food product until the department determines that the food product is or is not misbranded as a meat product. (2) The department may require that the food product be held by the food processing plant and be secured from purchase. (3) If the department determines that the food product being offered for sale or sold by a food processing plant, retail or food establishment is misbranded as a meat product, the appropriate regulatory authority may issue an embargo order requiring the food processing plant, retail or food establishment to dispose of the misbranded meat product other than by sale to purchasers in this state. (4) The department or the Attorney General shall enforce the stop order or embargo order by petitioning the chancery court of that county. SECTION 5. (1) A food processing plant, retail or food establishment shall not misbrand a food product as a meat product as provided in Section 3 of this act as determined by the department. (2) A food processing plant, retail or food establishment violating subsection (1) is subject to a civil penalty of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) total for violations arising out of the same transaction or occurrence. Each day that a violation continues constitutes a separate offense. Civil penalties collected under this subsection shall be deposited in the State General Fund. (3) A food processing plant, retail or food establishment may contest the civil penalty imposed by the department through judicial review. (4) An appeal from the decision of the department to impose a civil penalty shall be made by filing a written notice of appeal with the circuit court clerk of the county where the accused resides, or in the case of a nonresident accused, in the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County. The notice of appeal and the payment of costs must be filed and paid with the circuit clerk, within thirty (30) days of the entry of the order being appealed. The appeal shall otherwise be conducted in accordance with existing laws and rules. (5) Any party aggrieved by the action of the circuit court may appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court in the manner provided by law and rules. SECTION 6. The department shall suspend or revoke a license issued to a food processing plant, retail or food establishment under this chapter for offering for sale or selling a food product that is misbranded as a meat product in violation of Section 3. SECTION 7. (1) The executive administrative officers of state institutions of higher learning under the authority of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, the respective boards of trustees of public community and junior colleges and local school boards, shall establish policies to prevent the purchase of food products that are misbranded as a meat product as prohibited in this act, or is a cultivated-protein food product as defined in this act. SECTION 8. (1) All retail and food service establishments of food products, meats, meat-food products, cultivated-protein food products, manufactured-protein food products, insect-protein food products and plant-protein food products shall inform consumers, at the final point of sale, of the products' authenticity as a meat or nonmeat product with appropriate labeling indicating such. (2) The methods of notification required under subsection (1) shall be accomplished as follows: (a) Retailers shall provide information to consumers by means of a label, stamp, mark, placard or other clear and visible sign on the meat or nonmeat product or on the package, display, holding unit or bin containing the meat or nonmeat at the final point of sale to consumers. If the product is already individually labeled for retail sale regarding its authenticity as a meat or nonmeat product, the retailer shall not be required to provide any additional information to comply with this section. (b) Food service establishments shall provide information to the consumer by indications on the menu of the food service establishment. For inauthentic meat items derived from cultivated-protein food products, manufactured-protein food products, insect-protein food products and plant-protein food products, the information shall be adjacent to the item on the menu and printed in the same font style and size as the item. If the food service establishment offers for sale only authentic meat and meat-food products as defined in Section 75-35-3, then the food service establishment may generally disclose this in a prominent location in the food service establishment in lieu of disclosure on the menu. The signage disclosing the sale of only authentic meat and meat-food products, that is to be placed in a prominent location in the food service establishment, shall be approved by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, which shall be held harmless in a cause of action for a retail or food service establishment's failure to disclose or fraudulent disclosure. Any liability arising from failure to disclose authenticity shall remain with the processor, distributor, wholesaler and the retail or food service establishment. (3) The commissioner may require that any person that prepares, stores, handles or distributes food products, meats, meat-food products, cultivated-protein food products, manufactured-protein food products, insect-protein food products and plant-protein food products for retail sale maintains a verifiable record-keeping audit trail that permits the commissioner to verify compliance with this act and any regulations promulgated hereunder. (4) Any distributor or wholesaler engaged in the business of supplying meat, meat-food products, cultivated-protein food products, manufactured-protein food products, insect-protein food products and plant-protein food products to a retailer or food service establishment shall provide information to the retailer or food service establishment indicating the authenticity of product as a meat or nonmeat. The information shall include certification of origin through a state or federal agency that regulates the processing of meat or through a federal agency that verifies that meat and/or other products produced in countries other than the United States meets similar sanitation requirements. SECTION 9. Section 75-35-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 75-35-3. As used in this chapter, except as otherwise specified, the following terms shall have the meanings stated below: (a) The term "commissioner" means the "commissioner of agriculture and commerce of the State of Mississippi," or his duly authorized deputies. (b) The term "firm" means any partnership, association, or other unincorporated business organization. (c) The term "meat broker" means any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of buying or selling carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat, or meat-food products of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines on commission, or otherwise negotiating purchases or sales of such item or products other than for his own account or as an employee of another person, firm, or corporation. (d) The term "renderer" means any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of rendering carcasses, or parts or products of the carcasses, of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines, except rendering conducted under inspection under this article. (e) The term "animal food manufacturer" means any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of manufacturing or processing animal food derived wholly or in part from carcasses or parts or products of the carcasses, of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines. (f) The term "unfit for human food" means as defined in the "Meat, Meat-Food and Poultry Regulation and Inspection Law of 1960," appearing in subsection (c) of Section 75-33-3, Mississippi Code of 1972. (g) The term "meat-food product" means any product capable of use as human food which is made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass of any cattle, sheep, swine, or goats, excepting products which contain meat or other portions of such carcasses only in a relatively small proportion or historically have not been considered by consumers as products of the meat-food industry, and which are exempted from definition as a meat-food product by the commissioner under such conditions as he may prescribe to assure that the meat or other portions of such carcasses contained in such product are not adulterated and that such products are not represented as meat-food products. This term as applied to food products of equines shall have a meaning comparable to that provided in this paragraph with respect to cattle, sheep, swine, and goats. (h) The term "capable of use as human food" shall apply to any carcass, or part or product of a carcass, of any animal, unless it is denatured or otherwise identified as required by regulations prescribed by the commissioner to deter its use as human food, or it is naturally inedible by humans. (i) The term "prepare" means slaughtered, canned, salted, rendered, boned, cut up, or otherwise manufactured or processed. (j) The term "adulterated" shall apply to any carcass, part thereof, meat or meat-food product under one or more of the following circumstances: (1) If it bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health; but in case the substance is not an added substance, such article shall not be considered adulterated under this clause if the quantity of such substance in or on such item or product does not ordinarily render it injurious to health; (2) (A) If it bears or contains (by reason of administration of any substance to the live animal or otherwise) any added poisonous or added deleterious substance (other than one which is (i) a pesticide chemical in or on a raw agricultural commodity; (ii) a food additive; or (iii) a color additive) which may, in the judgment of the commissioner, make such item or product unfit for human food; (B) If it is, in whole or in part, a raw agricultural commodity and such commodity bears or contains a pesticide chemical which is unsafe within the meaning of Section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended; (C) If it bears or contains any food additive which is unsafe within the meaning of Section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended; (D) If it bears or contains any color additive which is unsafe within the meaning of Section 706 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act: provided, that an article which is not adulterated under clause (B), (C), or (D) shall nevertheless be deemed adulterated if use of the pesticide chemical, food additive, or color additive in or on such item or product is prohibited by regulations of the commissioner in establishments at which inspection is maintained under this article; (3) If it consists, in whole or in part, of any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance or is for any other reason unsound, unhealthful, unwholesome, or otherwise unfit for human food; (4) If it has been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health; (5) If it is, in whole or in part, the product of an animal which has died otherwise than by slaughter; or which was diseased or was in a dying condition at the time of slaughter; (6) If its container is composed, in whole or in part, of any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render the contents injurious to health; (7) If it has been intentionally subjected to radiation, unless the use of the radiation was in conformity with a regulation or exemption in effect pursuant to Section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; (8) If any valuable constituent has been, in whole or in part, omitted or abstracted therefrom; or if any substance has been substituted, wholly or in part therefor; or if damage or inferiority has been concealed in any manner; or if any substance has been added thereto or mixed or packed therewith so as to increase its bulk or weight, or reduce its quality or strength, or make it appear better or of greater value than it is; or (9) If it is margarine containing animal fat and any of the raw material used therein consisted, in whole or in part of, any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance. (k) The term "misbranded" shall apply to any carcass, part thereof, meat or meat-food product under one or more of the following circumstances: (1) If its labeling is false or misleading in any particular; (2) If it is offered for sale under the name of another food; (3) If it is an imitation of another food, unless its label bears, in type of uniform size and prominence, the word "imitation" and immediately thereafter, the name of the food imitated; (4) If its container is so made, formed, or filled as to be misleading; (5) If in a package or other container unless it bears a label showing (A) the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor; and (B) an accurate statement of the quantity of the contents in terms of weight, measure, or numerical count; provided, that under clause (B) of this subparagraph (5), reasonable variations may be permitted, and exemptions as to small packages may be established, by regulations prescribed by the commissioner. (6) If any word, statement, or other information required by or under authority of this chapter to appear on the label or other labeling is not prominently placed thereon with such conspicuousness (as compared with other words, statements, designs, or devices, in the labeling) and in such terms as to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase and use; (7) If it purports to be or is represented as a food for which a definition standard of identity or composition has been prescribed by regulations of the commissioner under Section 75-35-15 unless (A) it conforms to such definition and standard, and (B) its label bears the name of the food specified in the definition and standard and, insofar as may be required by such regulations, the common names of optional ingredients (other than spices, flavoring, and coloring) present in such food; (8) If it purports to be or is represented as a food for which a standard or standards of fill of container have been prescribed by regulations of the commissioner under Section 75-35-15, and it falls below the standard of fill of container applicable thereto, unless its label bears, in such manner and form as such regulations specify, a statement that it falls below such standard; (9) If it is not subject to the provisions of subparagraph (7), unless its label bears (A) the common or usual name of the food, if any there be, and (B) in case it is fabricated from two (2) or more ingredients, the common or usual name of each such ingredient; except that spices, flavorings, and colorings may, when authorized by the commissioner, be designated as spices, flavorings, and colorings without naming each: provided, that to the extent that compliance with the requirements of clause (B) of this subparagraph (9) is impracticable, or results in deception or unfair competition, exemptions shall be established by regulations promulgated by the commissioner; (10) If it purports to be or is represented for special dietary uses, unless its label bears such information concerning its vitamin, mineral, and other dietary properties as the commissioner, after consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, determines to be, and by regulations prescribes as, necessary in order fully to inform purchasers as to its value for such uses; (11) If it bears or contains any artificial flavoring, artificial coloring, or chemical preservative, unless it bears labeling stating that fact: provided, that, to the extent that compliance with the requirements of this subparagraph (11) is impracticable, exemptions shall be established by regulations promulgated by the commissioner; or (12) If it fails to bear, directly thereon or on its container, as the commissioner may by regulations prescribe, the inspection legend and, unrestricted by any of the foregoing, such other information as the commissioner may require in such regulations to assure that it will not have false or misleading labeling and that the public will be informed of the manner of handling required to maintain the item or product in a wholesome condition. (l) The term "label" means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter upon * * *the immediate any container * * *(not including package liners) of any item or product storing a food product that is offered for sale or sold on a wholesale or retail basis, regardless of whether the label is printed on the container's packaging or a sticker affixed to the container. (m) The term "labeling" means all labels and other written, printed, or graphic matter (1) upon any item or product or any of its containers or wrappers, or (2) accompanying such item or product. (n) The term "Federal Meat Inspection Act" means the act so entitled approved March 4, 1907 (34 Stat 1260), as amended by the Wholesome Meat Act (8 Stat 584). (o) The term "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act" means the act so entitled, approved June 25, 1938 (52 Stat 1040), and acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto. (p) The term "pesticide chemical," "food additive," "color additive" and "raw agricultural commodity" shall have the same meanings for purposes of this chapter as under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. (q) The term "official mark" means the official inspection legend or any other symbol prescribed by regulations of the commissioner to identify the status of any product or animal under this chapter. (r) The term "official inspection legend" means any symbol prescribed by regulations of the commissioner showing that an item or product was inspected and passed in accordance with this chapter. (s) The term "official certificate" means any certificate prescribed by regulations of the commissioner for issuance by an inspector or other person performing official functions under this chapter. (t) The term "official device" means any device prescribed or authorized by the commissioner for use in applying any official mark. (u) "Cultivated-protein food product" means a food product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from an agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from manufacturing cells, in which one or more stem cells are initially isolated from an agricultural food animal, are grown in vitro, and may be manipulated, as part of a manufacturing operation. (v) "Insect-protein food product" means a food product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from an agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from manufacturing insect parts. (w) "Manufactured-protein food product" means a cultivated-protein food product, insect-protein food product or plant-protein food product. (x) "Plant-protein food product" means a food product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue found in a species of agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from manufacturing plant parts. SECTION 10. Section 75-35-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 75-35-15. (1) When any meat or meat-food product has been inspected as hereinbefore provided and marked "Mississippi inspected and passed" or appropriate marking shall be placed or packed in any can, pot, tin, canvas, or other receptacle or covering in any establishment where inspection under the provisions of this chapter is maintained, the person, firm, or corporation preparing said product shall cause a label to be attached to said can, pot, tin, canvas, or other receptacle or covering, under supervision of an inspector, which label shall state that the contents thereof have been "Mississippi inspected and passed" or appropriate marking under the provisions of this chapter, and no inspection and examination of meat or meat-food products deposited or enclosed in cans, tins, pots, canvas, or other receptacle or covering in any establishment where inspection under the provisions of this chapter is maintained shall be deemed to be complete until such meat or meat-food products have been sealed or enclosed in said can, tin, pot, canvas, or other receptacle or covering under the supervision of an inspector. (2) All carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat and meat-food products inspected at any establishment under the authority of this chapter and found to be not adulterated, shall at the time they leave the establishment bear, in distinctly legible form, directly thereon or on their containers, as the commissioner may require, the information required under paragraph (k) of Section 75-35-3. (3) The commissioner, whenever he determines such action is necessary for the protection of the public, may prescribe: (a) The styles and sizes of type to be used with respect to material required to be incorporated in labeling to avoid false or misleading labeling of any products or animals subject to this article or Article 3 of this chapter; and (b) Definitions and standards of identity or composition for items subject to this article and standards of fill of container for such products not inconsistent with any such standards established under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, and there shall be consultation between the commissioner and the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States prior to the issuance of such standards to avoid inconsistency between such standards and the federal standards. (4) (a) No item or product subject to this article shall be sold or offered for sale by any person, firm, * * *or corporation, retailer or food service establishment under any name or other marking or labeling which is false or misleading, or in any container of a misleading form or size, but established trade names and other marking and labeling and containers which are not false or misleading and which are approved by the commissioner, are permitted. A food product or cultivated-protein food product that contains cultured animal tissue produced from animal cell cultures outside of the organism from which it is derived shall not be * * *labeled as meat or a meat-food product manufactured or sold within the state. A plant-based * * * or, plant-protein, insect-based or insect-protein food product shall not be labeled as meat or a meat-food product. A manufactured-protein food product, as defined in Section 1 of this act, shall not be labeled as meat or a meat-food product. (b) Every person, firm, corporation, retailer or food service establishment governed by the provisions of this chapter shall inform consumers, at the final point of sale, of the products' authenticity as a meat or nonmeat product with appropriate labeling indicating such in a manner consistent with the requirements of Section 8 of this act. (5) If the commissioner has reason to believe that any marking or labeling or the size or form of any container in use or proposed for use with respect to any item subject to this article is false or misleading in any particular, he may direct that such use be withheld unless the marking, labeling, or container is modified in such manner as he may prescribe so that it will not be false or misleading. If the person, firm, or corporation using or proposing to use the marking, labeling or container does not accept the determination of the commissioner, such person, firm, or corporation may request a hearing, but the use of the marking, labeling, or container shall, if the commissioner so directs, be withheld pending hearing and final determination by the commissioner. Any party aggrieved by such final determination may, within thirty (30) days after receipt of notice of such final determination, effect an appeal therefrom to the chancery court of the county in which such party resides or in which the principal place of his business is domiciled; and, on appeal, such chancery court shall affirm, modify, or set aside the commissioner's final determination. SECTION 11. Section 75-33-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 75-33-3. (1) For the purpose of this article, the words and terms used herein shall have ascribed to them the following meanings: (a) The word "person" shall include individuals, partnerships, corporations, associations, and any other legal entity recognized by law. (b) The terms "meat" and "meat-food products" whenever used in this article, shall include the carcasses or parts thereof, of cattle, sheep, goats, other ruminants, including exotic animals, swine, horses, mules, rabbits, poultry and ratites and the meat and meat-food products of such animals. (c) The term "food unfit for human consumption" shall be construed to include the meat and meat-food products of horses and mules and all meats or meat-food products which are so affected with disease that it would be dangerous to use the meat or other parts for human food; also, all meats or meat-food products which are contaminated, putrid, unsound, unhealthful, or otherwise unfit for food, or which have been derived from any animal which has died as a result of disease or accident, or which was in a dying condition at the time of slaughter. (d) The word "establishment" as used in this article, shall include: (i) any building or structure in which slaughtering, butchering, meat processing, meat canning, meat packing, meat manufacturing or rendering is carried on; and (ii) the ground upon which such building or structure is erected, and so much ground adjacent thereto as is used in carrying on the business of such establishment, including drains, gutters, waste disposal and cesspools used in connection with the establishment. (e) The word "equipment" as used in this article, shall include all machinery, fixtures, containers, vessels, tools, implements and apparatus used in and about an establishment. (f) The word "commissioner" as used in this article, shall mean the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, or his duly authorized deputies. (g) The word "ratite" means a member of a group of large flightless birds including the ostrich, rhea and emu. (h) The words "exotic animal" mean a member of a species of game not indigenous to this state, including axis deer, fallow deer, red deer or other cloven-hooved ruminant animals and ratites. (i) The term "food establishment" means any place, vehicle, or vessel that prepares, stores, holds, transports, serves, or dispenses food for human consumption. (2) All persons engaged in business as a meat broker, jobber, dealer, distributor, peddler, transporter, or wholesaler of any carcasses of meat animals or poultry or parts or products thereof, whether fresh, frozen, cured or otherwise and whether canned, wrapped, packaged or prepackaged, but not otherwise handled, whether intended for human food or other purposes, or any person engaged in the business as a public warehouseman storing any such items or products shall register with the commissioner on forms provided and shall operate under the applicable inspection authority provided in this article and by the Mississippi Meat Inspection Act of 1968 [Chapter 35 of Title 75], provided persons operating the aforementioned nonslaughter and nonprocessing businesses are exempt from the license and fee specified in Section 75-33-7. (3) The slaughtering by any person of animals and poultry of his own raising, and the processing and transportation by him of animals and poultry products exclusively for use by him and members of his household and his nonpaying guests and employees, shall be exempt from the provisions of this article. Any other operations of an unlicensed, unapproved slaughterhouse and/or processing facility to escape the provisions of this article shall be unlawful, and any person found guilty of such violation shall be punished as provided in Section 75-33-37. (4) The provisions of this article shall not apply to poultry producers with respect to poultry of their own raising on their own farms on the same basis as now provided in the United States Wholesome Poultry Products Act and regulations thereunder, and such exemptions shall be consistent with said act and regulations. However, the adulteration and misbranding provisions of said act, other than the requirement of the inspection legend, shall apply to articles which are exempt from inspection by said act and regulations. SECTION 12. Section 75-33-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 75-33-7. (1) It shall be the duty of every person operating an establishment or food establishment as defined in Section 75-33-3, except retail dealers, restaurants or eating places and establishments operating under the United States Department of Agriculture system of inspection, to apply to the commissioner for a license to operate such establishment * * *before July 1, 1960, and annually thereafter before July of each succeeding year, and pay to the commissioner at the time said application for registration and license is filed, a fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00) for each establishment operated, and a like fee of ten dollars ($10.00) for the renewal thereof. The fees for the issuance of the license and the renewals thereof, together with such other fees and charges authorized by this article, shall be kept by the commissioner in a separate fund to be used to defray the expenses of the enforcement of this article. A strict accounting shall be made of all funds received and disbursed. (2) The application for a license shall be made on a form to be supplied by the commissioner, and shall show the location of each establishment and the name and address of the owner, and the name and address of the lessor or lessee. The application shall have attached thereto the affidavit of the person applying for the license that the facts set forth are true and correct. (3) Upon approval of application for license and payment of license fee, and upon approval of sanitary conditions in the establishment, and every place used in connection therewith, the commissioner shall issue to each applicant a license which shall expire on June 30 of each year, and which shall authorize the operation of said establishment for the fiscal year, or portion thereof, for which a license is issued. (4) Such license shall be posted in a conspicuous place in or at the place of business of such licensee, and exposed for inspection by any person or persons who may be properly authorized to make such examination. (5) From and after the first day of July 1960, it shall be unlawful for any person to operate an establishment unless said establishment is duly licensed and inspected in accordance with the provisions of this article. The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall develop and administer a poultry inspection program which shall require mandatory poultry product inspection that imposes antemortem and postmortem inspection, reinspection and sanitation requirements that are at least equal to those under the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act of 1968 [21 USCS 451 et seq.], and the regulations thereunder with respect to all or certain classes of persons engaged in slaughtering poultry or processing poultry products for use as human food solely for distribution with this state. Any existing provision of law in regard to fees, mandatory requirements, other options, or inspection administration in conflict herewith, shall not affect the foregoing mandatory inspection provision. Provided, further, that the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall be authorized to enter into a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture for compliance with the Poultry Products Inspection Act of 1968 and amendments thereto [21 USCS 451 et seq.], for the purpose of financing and enforcing a mandatory antemortem and postmortem inspection, reinspection and sanitation requirements that are at least equal to those under the within cited federal act with respect to all or certain persons engaged in slaughtering poultry or processing poultry products in this state for use as human food solely for distribution within this state. The commissioner is further empowered to make inspection of other poultry slaughtering and processing facilities when he deems same necessary to the proper sanitation and distribution of such products solely within this state. SECTION 13. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025. |
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| 1 | + | MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE 2025 Regular Session To: Agriculture By: Representatives Mangold, Carpenter House Bill 913 (As Passed the House) AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR LABELING REQUIREMENTS FOR MEAT AND MEAT SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS IN AN EFFORT TO PREVENT CONSUMER CONFUSION; TO DEFINE TERMINOLOGY USED IN THIS ACT; TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SHALL INSPECT AN INVENTORY OF FOOD PRODUCTS OFFERED FOR SALE OR SOLD AT A FOOD PROCESSING PLANT, RETAIL OR FOOD ESTABLISHMENT BASED ON A CREDIBLE COMPLAINT; TO PRESCRIBE THE CRITERIA THAT ALLOWS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF MISBRANDED MEAT PRODUCTS; TO PROHIBIT FOOD PROCESSING PLANTS, RETAIL AND FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS FROM OFFERING FOR SALE OR SELL A FOOD PRODUCT THAT IS MISBRANDED AS A MEAT PRODUCT; TO PRESCRIBE ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS THAT MAY BE TAKEN BY THE DEPARTMENT AGAINST ENTITIES THAT VIOLATE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; TO PRESCRIBE CIVIL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS; TO PRESCRIBE THE MANNER BY WHICH ACCUSED VIOLATORS WHO HAVE RECEIVED THE IMPOSITION OF A CIVIL PENALTY TO CONTEST AND APPEAL THE DECISION OF THE DEPARTMENT TO IMPOSE SUCH PENALTY; TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOT SUSPEND OR REVOKE A LICENSE ISSUED TO A FOOD PROCESSING PLANT, RETAIL OR FOOD ESTABLISHMENT FOR VIOLATIONS; TO REQUIRE THE EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING, THE BOARDS OF TRUSTEES OF PUBLIC COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES AND LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS TO ESTABLISH POLICIES TO PREVENT THE PURCHASE OF FOOD PRODUCTS THAT ARE MISBRANDED AS A MEAT PRODUCT OR IS A CULTIVATED-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCT; TO REQUIRE ALL RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS OF FOOD PRODUCTS, MEATS, MEAT-FOOD PRODUCTS, CULTIVATED-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS, MANUFACTURED-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS, INSECT-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS TO INFORM CONSUMERS OF THE PRODUCTS' AUTHENTICITY AS A MEAT OR NONMEAT PRODUCT WITH APPROPRIATE LABELING AT THE FINAL POINT OF SALE; TO PRESCRIBE THE REQUIRED METHOD OF NOTIFICATION; TO PROVIDE THAT THE COMMISSIONER MAY REQUIRE CERTAIN ENTITIES TO MAINTAIN A VERIFIABLE RECORD-KEEPING AUDIT TRAIL FOR PURPOSES OF VERIFYING COMPLIANCE; TO REQUIRE DISTRIBUTORS OR WHOLESALERS ENGAGED IN THE BUSINESS OF SUPPLYING MEAT, MEAT-FOOD PRODUCTS, CULTIVATED-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS, MANUFACTURED-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS, INSECT-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS AND PLANT-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS TO A RETAILER OR FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO THE RETAILER OR FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT INDICATING THE AUTHENTICITY OF PRODUCT AS A MEAT OR NONMEAT; TO AMEND SECTIONS 75-35-3, 75-35-15, 75-33-3 AND 75-33-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: SECTION 1. As used in Sections 1 through 8 of this act, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Agricultural food animal" means a domesticated animal belonging to the bovine, caprine, ovine, or porcine species; or live domestic fowl limited to chickens or turkeys. (b) "Cultivated-protein food product" means a food product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from an agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from manufacturing cells, in which one or more stem cells are initially isolated from an agricultural food animal, are grown in vitro, and may be manipulated, as part of a manufacturing operation. (c) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce. (d) "Food processing plant" means a commercial operation that manufactures, packages, labels or stores food for human consumption and does not provide food directly to a consumer. The term does not include any of the following: (i) A premises covered by the legalized sale of beer, light spirit products and light wines under the provisions of Chapter 3, Title 67, Mississippi Code of 1972; (ii) A premises of a residence in which honey is stored, prepared, packaged, including by placement in a container, labeled or from which honey is distributed, as regulated under the provisions of Chapter 29, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972; (iii) The premises of a raw milk dairy where raw milk is produced, processed, labeled, marketed, or distributed by a raw milk producer in compliance with Chapter 31, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972; or (iv) The premises of a raw milk dairy where a raw milk product or raw milk dairy product is manufactured, labeled, marketed or distributed by a raw milk producer in compliance with Chapter 31, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972. (e) "Food product" means a perishable or nonperishable item stored in a container or package, if the item is fit for human consumption. (f) "Identifying meat term" means any word or phrase that states, indicates, suggests, or describes a meat product, regardless of whether the word or phrase is used individually, as a portmanteau, or as a compound word. "Identifying meat term" includes, but is not limited to, any of the following: (i) A common name for the species of the agricultural food animal subject to slaughter and processing, including a calf or cow, chicken, goat or kid, hog or pig, poultry, lamb or sheep or turkey. (ii) A common name for a characteristic of a species of the agricultural food animal subject to slaughter and processing based on age, breed or sex. (iii) Meat, including: 1. Beef or veal; 2. Broiler, fryer, poulet or yearling; 3. Cabrito or chevon; 4. Lamb or mutton; 5. Pork; 6. A common name used to describe a major cut of a meat of an agricultural food animal slaughtered and processed, including: a. A major meat cut specified in 9 CFR Section 317.344; b. A poultry product such as breast, drumstick, giblet, thigh or wing; or c. The common name of an organ or offal, including gizzard, heart, liver, kidney or tongue; and 7. Any other common name that a reasonable purchaser would immediately and exclusively associate with a meat product prepared for sale in normal commercial channels such as bacon, baloney, bologna, bone, brat or bratwurst, brisket, burger or hamburger, butt, chop, chuck, cold cut, cutlet, filet, flat iron, frank or frankfurter, ham, hock, hot dog, jerky, liverwurst, loin, London broil, lunch meat, New York strip, pepperoni, porterhouse, ribeye, roast, rib or sparerib, salami, sausage, shank, sirloin, tenderloin, or a comparable word or phrase as approved by the department. (g) "Insect-protein food product" means a food product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from an agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from manufacturing insect parts. (h) "Label" means a display of written, printed or graphic matter placed upon any container storing a food product that is offered for sale or sold on a wholesale or retail basis, regardless of whether the label is printed on the container's packaging or a sticker affixed to the container. (i) "Manufactured-protein food product" means a cultivated-protein food product, insect-protein food product or plant-protein food product. (j) "Meat processing" means the handling, preparation, and slaughter of an agricultural food animal; the dressing of its carcass; or the cutting, storage, and packaging of its tissue or other parts as a food product. (k) "Meat product" means a food product derived from meat processing. (l) "Plant-protein food product" means a food product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue found in a species of agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from manufacturing plant parts. (m) "Qualifying term" means a word, compound word or phrase that would clearly disclose to a reasonable purchaser of meat products from a food processing plant that a food product is not a meat product. "Qualifying term" includes, but is not limited to, cell-cultivated, cell-cultured, fake, grown in a lab, imitation, insect, insect-based, insect-protein, lab-created, lab-grown, meat free, meatless, plant, plant-based, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian, veggie, or a comparable word or phrase as approved by the department. (n) "Regulatory authority" means the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, the State Department of Health, or the United States Department of Agriculture, with whom the Department of Agriculture and Commerce has a cooperative relationship under Section 75-35-201 for the purpose of carrying out the enforcement of this act pursuant to authority granted in Section 75-35-203. SECTION 2. (1) In conducting a routine inspection of the premises of a food processing plant licensed under Chapter 33, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972, retail or food establishment, the Department of Agriculture and Commerce is not required to determine if any food product located on the premises is misbranded as a meat product as provided in Section 3 of this act. (2) The department shall inspect an inventory of food products offered for sale or sold at a food processing plant, retail or food establishment based on a credible complaint that the food products are misbranded as meat products as provided in Section 3 of this act. (3) The department shall have the same powers to inspect a food processing plant under this act as it does under Chapters 33 and 35, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972. SECTION 3. (1) A food product is misbranded as a meat product if all of the following apply: (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), the food product is a manufactured-protein food product or the food product contains a manufactured-protein food product; (b) The food product is not misbranded as a meat product only because it contains a trace amount of one or more plant-protein food products as determined by the department; (c) The food product is offered for sale or sold by a food processing plant; (d) A label that is part of or placed on the package or other container storing the food product includes an identifying meat term; and (e) Paragraph (d) does not apply if the label contains a conspicuous and prominent qualifying term in close proximity to an identifying meat term. (2) A food processing plant, retail or food establishment shall not offer for sale or sell a food product that is misbranded as a meat product as provided in this section. SECTION 4. (1) If the department has reasonable cause to believe that a food processing plant, retail or food establishment is offering for sale or selling a food product that is misbranded as a meat product in violation of Section 3 of this act, the department may issue a stop order. Upon being issued the stop order, the food processing plant shall not offer for sale or sell the food product until the department determines that the food product is or is not misbranded as a meat product. (2) The department may require that the food product be held by the food processing plant and be secured from purchase. (3) If the department determines that the food product being offered for sale or sold by a food processing plant, retail or food establishment is misbranded as a meat product, the appropriate regulatory authority may issue an embargo order requiring the food processing plant, retail or food establishment to dispose of the misbranded meat product other than by sale to purchasers in this state. (4) The department, the Attorney General or the county attorney in the county where the food product is being offered for sale or sold may enforce the stop order or embargo order by petitioning the chancery court of that county. SECTION 5. (1) A food processing plant, retail or food establishment shall not misbrand a food product as a meat product as provided in Section 3 of this act as determined by the department. (2) A food processing plant, retail or food establishment violating subsection (1) is subject to a civil penalty of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) total for violations arising out of the same transaction or occurrence. Each day that a violation continues constitutes a separate offense. Civil penalties collected under this subsection shall be deposited in the State General Fund. (3) A food processing plant, retail or food establishment may contest the civil penalty imposed by the department through judicial review. (4) An appeal from the decision of the department to impose a civil penalty shall be made by filing a written notice of appeal with the circuit court clerk of the county where the accused resides, or in the case of a nonresident accused, in the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County. The notice of appeal and the payment of costs must be filed and paid with the circuit clerk, within thirty (30) days of the entry of the order being appealed. The appeal shall otherwise be conducted in accordance with existing laws and rules. (5) Any party aggrieved by the action of the circuit court may appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court in the manner provided by law and rules. SECTION 6. The department shall not suspend or revoke a license issued to a food processing plant, retail or food establishment under this chapter for offering for sale or selling a food product that is misbranded as a meat product in violation of Section 3. SECTION 7. (1) The executive administrative officers of state institutions of higher learning under the authority of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, the respective boards of trustees of public community and junior colleges and local school boards, shall establish policies to prevent the purchase of food products that are misbranded as a meat product as prohibited in this act, or is a cultivated-protein food product as defined in this act. SECTION 8. (1) All retail and food service establishments of food products, meats, meat-food products, cultivated-protein food products, manufactured-protein food products, insect-protein food products and plant-protein food products shall inform consumers, at the final point of sale, of the products' authenticity as a meat or nonmeat product with appropriate labeling indicating such. (2) The methods of notification required under subsection (1) shall be accomplished as follows: (a) Retailers shall provide information to consumers by means of a label, stamp, mark, placard or other clear and visible sign on the meat or nonmeat product or on the package, display, holding unit or bin containing the meat or nonmeat at the final point of sale to consumers. If the product is already individually labeled for retail sale regarding its authenticity as a meat or nonmeat product, the retailer shall not be required to provide any additional information to comply with this section. (b) Food service establishments shall provide information to the consumer by indications on the menu of the food service establishment. For inauthentic meat items derived from cultivated-protein food products, manufactured-protein food products, insect-protein food products and plant-protein food products, the information shall be adjacent to the item on the menu and printed in the same font style and size as the item. If the food service establishment offers for sale only authentic meat and meat-food products as defined in Section 75-35-3, then the food service establishment may generally disclose this in a prominent location in the food service establishment in lieu of disclosure on the menu. The signage disclosing the sale of only authentic meat and meat-food products, that is to be placed in a prominent location in the food service establishment, shall be approved by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, which shall be held harmless in a cause of action for a retail or food service establishment's failure to disclose or fraudulent disclosure. Any liability arising from failure to disclose authenticity shall remain with the processor, distributor, wholesaler and the retail or food service establishment. (3) The commissioner may require that any person that prepares, stores, handles or distributes food products, meats, meat-food products, cultivated-protein food products, manufactured-protein food products, insect-protein food products and plant-protein food products for retail sale maintains a verifiable record-keeping audit trail that permits the commissioner to verify compliance with this act and any regulations promulgated hereunder. (4) Any distributor or wholesaler engaged in the business of supplying meat, meat-food products, cultivated-protein food products, manufactured-protein food products, insect-protein food products and plant-protein food products to a retailer or food service establishment shall provide information to the retailer or food service establishment indicating the authenticity of product as a meat or nonmeat. The information shall include certification of origin through a state or federal agency that regulates the processing of meat or through a federal agency that verifies that meat and/or other products produced in countries other than the United States meets similar sanitation requirements. SECTION 9. Section 75-35-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 75-35-3. As used in this chapter, except as otherwise specified, the following terms shall have the meanings stated below: (a) The term "commissioner" means the "commissioner of agriculture and commerce of the State of Mississippi," or his duly authorized deputies. (b) The term "firm" means any partnership, association, or other unincorporated business organization. (c) The term "meat broker" means any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of buying or selling carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat, or meat-food products of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines on commission, or otherwise negotiating purchases or sales of such item or products other than for his own account or as an employee of another person, firm, or corporation. (d) The term "renderer" means any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of rendering carcasses, or parts or products of the carcasses, of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines, except rendering conducted under inspection under this article. (e) The term "animal food manufacturer" means any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of manufacturing or processing animal food derived wholly or in part from carcasses or parts or products of the carcasses, of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines. (f) The term "unfit for human food" means as defined in the "Meat, Meat-Food and Poultry Regulation and Inspection Law of 1960," appearing in subsection (c) of Section 75-33-3, Mississippi Code of 1972. (g) The term "meat-food product" means any product capable of use as human food which is made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass of any cattle, sheep, swine, or goats, excepting products which contain meat or other portions of such carcasses only in a relatively small proportion or historically have not been considered by consumers as products of the meat-food industry, and which are exempted from definition as a meat-food product by the commissioner under such conditions as he may prescribe to assure that the meat or other portions of such carcasses contained in such product are not adulterated and that such products are not represented as meat-food products. This term as applied to food products of equines shall have a meaning comparable to that provided in this paragraph with respect to cattle, sheep, swine, and goats. (h) The term "capable of use as human food" shall apply to any carcass, or part or product of a carcass, of any animal, unless it is denatured or otherwise identified as required by regulations prescribed by the commissioner to deter its use as human food, or it is naturally inedible by humans. (i) The term "prepare" means slaughtered, canned, salted, rendered, boned, cut up, or otherwise manufactured or processed. (j) The term "adulterated" shall apply to any carcass, part thereof, meat or meat-food product under one or more of the following circumstances: (1) If it bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health; but in case the substance is not an added substance, such article shall not be considered adulterated under this clause if the quantity of such substance in or on such item or product does not ordinarily render it injurious to health; (2) (A) If it bears or contains (by reason of administration of any substance to the live animal or otherwise) any added poisonous or added deleterious substance (other than one which is (i) a pesticide chemical in or on a raw agricultural commodity; (ii) a food additive; or (iii) a color additive) which may, in the judgment of the commissioner, make such item or product unfit for human food; (B) If it is, in whole or in part, a raw agricultural commodity and such commodity bears or contains a pesticide chemical which is unsafe within the meaning of Section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended; (C) If it bears or contains any food additive which is unsafe within the meaning of Section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended; (D) If it bears or contains any color additive which is unsafe within the meaning of Section 706 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act: provided, that an article which is not adulterated under clause (B), (C), or (D) shall nevertheless be deemed adulterated if use of the pesticide chemical, food additive, or color additive in or on such item or product is prohibited by regulations of the commissioner in establishments at which inspection is maintained under this article; (3) If it consists, in whole or in part, of any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance or is for any other reason unsound, unhealthful, unwholesome, or otherwise unfit for human food; (4) If it has been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health; (5) If it is, in whole or in part, the product of an animal which has died otherwise than by slaughter; or which was diseased or was in a dying condition at the time of slaughter; (6) If its container is composed, in whole or in part, of any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render the contents injurious to health; (7) If it has been intentionally subjected to radiation, unless the use of the radiation was in conformity with a regulation or exemption in effect pursuant to Section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; (8) If any valuable constituent has been, in whole or in part, omitted or abstracted therefrom; or if any substance has been substituted, wholly or in part therefor; or if damage or inferiority has been concealed in any manner; or if any substance has been added thereto or mixed or packed therewith so as to increase its bulk or weight, or reduce its quality or strength, or make it appear better or of greater value than it is; or (9) If it is margarine containing animal fat and any of the raw material used therein consisted, in whole or in part of, any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance. (k) The term "misbranded" shall apply to any carcass, part thereof, meat or meat-food product under one or more of the following circumstances: (1) If its labeling is false or misleading in any particular; (2) If it is offered for sale under the name of another food; (3) If it is an imitation of another food, unless its label bears, in type of uniform size and prominence, the word "imitation" and immediately thereafter, the name of the food imitated; (4) If its container is so made, formed, or filled as to be misleading; (5) If in a package or other container unless it bears a label showing (A) the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor; and (B) an accurate statement of the quantity of the contents in terms of weight, measure, or numerical count; provided, that under clause (B) of this subparagraph (5), reasonable variations may be permitted, and exemptions as to small packages may be established, by regulations prescribed by the commissioner. (6) If any word, statement, or other information required by or under authority of this chapter to appear on the label or other labeling is not prominently placed thereon with such conspicuousness (as compared with other words, statements, designs, or devices, in the labeling) and in such terms as to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase and use; (7) If it purports to be or is represented as a food for which a definition standard of identity or composition has been prescribed by regulations of the commissioner under Section 75-35-15 unless (A) it conforms to such definition and standard, and (B) its label bears the name of the food specified in the definition and standard and, insofar as may be required by such regulations, the common names of optional ingredients (other than spices, flavoring, and coloring) present in such food; (8) If it purports to be or is represented as a food for which a standard or standards of fill of container have been prescribed by regulations of the commissioner under Section 75-35-15, and it falls below the standard of fill of container applicable thereto, unless its label bears, in such manner and form as such regulations specify, a statement that it falls below such standard; (9) If it is not subject to the provisions of subparagraph (7), unless its label bears (A) the common or usual name of the food, if any there be, and (B) in case it is fabricated from two (2) or more ingredients, the common or usual name of each such ingredient; except that spices, flavorings, and colorings may, when authorized by the commissioner, be designated as spices, flavorings, and colorings without naming each: provided, that to the extent that compliance with the requirements of clause (B) of this subparagraph (9) is impracticable, or results in deception or unfair competition, exemptions shall be established by regulations promulgated by the commissioner; (10) If it purports to be or is represented for special dietary uses, unless its label bears such information concerning its vitamin, mineral, and other dietary properties as the commissioner, after consultation with the secretary of agriculture of the United States, determines to be, and by regulations prescribes as, necessary in order fully to inform purchasers as to its value for such uses; (11) If it bears or contains any artificial flavoring, artificial coloring, or chemical preservative, unless it bears labeling stating that fact: provided, that, to the extent that compliance with the requirements of this subparagraph (11) is impracticable, exemptions shall be established by regulations promulgated by the commissioner; or (12) If it fails to bear, directly thereon or on its container, as the commissioner may by regulations prescribe, the inspection legend and, unrestricted by any of the foregoing, such other information as the commissioner may require in such regulations to assure that it will not have false or misleading labeling and that the public will be informed of the manner of handling required to maintain the item or product in a wholesome condition. (l) The term "label" means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter upon * * *the immediate any container * * *(not including package liners) of any item or product storing a food product that is offered for sale or sold on a wholesale or retail basis, regardless of whether the label is printed on the container's packaging or a sticker affixed to the container. (m) The term "labeling" means all labels and other written, printed, or graphic matter (1) upon any item or product or any of its containers or wrappers, or (2) accompanying such item or product. (n) The term "Federal Meat Inspection Act" means the act so entitled approved March 4, 1907 (34 Stat 1260), as amended by the Wholesome Meat Act (8 Stat 584). (o) The term "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act" means the act so entitled, approved June 25, 1938 (52 Stat 1040), and acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto. (p) The term "pesticide chemical," "food additive," "color additive" and "raw agricultural commodity" shall have the same meanings for purposes of this chapter as under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. (q) The term "official mark" means the official inspection legend or any other symbol prescribed by regulations of the commissioner to identify the status of any product or animal under this chapter. (r) The term "official inspection legend" means any symbol prescribed by regulations of the commissioner showing that an item or product was inspected and passed in accordance with this chapter. (s) The term "official certificate" means any certificate prescribed by regulations of the commissioner for issuance by an inspector or other person performing official functions under this chapter. (t) The term "official device" means any device prescribed or authorized by the commissioner for use in applying any official mark. (u) "Cultivated-protein food product" means a food product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from an agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from manufacturing cells, in which one or more stem cells are initially isolated from an agricultural food animal, are grown in vitro, and may be manipulated, as part of a manufacturing operation. (v) "Insect-protein food product" means a food product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from an agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from manufacturing insect parts. (w) "Manufactured-protein food product" means a cultivated-protein food product, insect-protein food product or plant-protein food product. (x) "Plant-protein food product" means a food product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue found in a species of agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from manufacturing plant parts. SECTION 10. Section 75-35-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 75-35-15. (1) When any meat or meat-food product has been inspected as hereinbefore provided and marked "Mississippi inspected and passed" or appropriate marking shall be placed or packed in any can, pot, tin, canvas, or other receptacle or covering in any establishment where inspection under the provisions of this chapter is maintained, the person, firm, or corporation preparing said product shall cause a label to be attached to said can, pot, tin, canvas, or other receptacle or covering, under supervision of an inspector, which label shall state that the contents thereof have been "Mississippi inspected and passed" or appropriate marking under the provisions of this chapter, and no inspection and examination of meat or meat-food products deposited or enclosed in cans, tins, pots, canvas, or other receptacle or covering in any establishment where inspection under the provisions of this chapter is maintained shall be deemed to be complete until such meat or meat-food products have been sealed or enclosed in said can, tin, pot, canvas, or other receptacle or covering under the supervision of an inspector. (2) All carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat and meat-food products inspected at any establishment under the authority of this chapter and found to be not adulterated, shall at the time they leave the establishment bear, in distinctly legible form, directly thereon or on their containers, as the commissioner may require, the information required under paragraph (k) of Section 75-35-3. (3) The commissioner, whenever he determines such action is necessary for the protection of the public, may prescribe: (a) The styles and sizes of type to be used with respect to material required to be incorporated in labeling to avoid false or misleading labeling of any products or animals subject to this article or Article 3 of this chapter; and (b) Definitions and standards of identity or composition for items subject to this article and standards of fill of container for such products not inconsistent with any such standards established under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, and there shall be consultation between the commissioner and the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States prior to the issuance of such standards to avoid inconsistency between such standards and the federal standards. (4) (a) No item or product subject to this article shall be sold or offered for sale by any person, firm, * * *or corporation, retailer or food service establishment under any name or other marking or labeling which is false or misleading, or in any container of a misleading form or size, but established trade names and other marking and labeling and containers which are not false or misleading and which are approved by the commissioner, are permitted. A food product or cultivated-protein food product that contains cultured animal tissue produced from animal cell cultures outside of the organism from which it is derived shall not be labeled as meat or a meat-food product. A plant-based * * * or, plant-protein, insect-based or insect-protein food product shall not be labeled as meat or a meat-food product. A manufactured-protein food product, as defined in Section 1 of this act, shall not be labeled as meat or a meat-food product. (b) Every person, firm, corporation, retailer or food service establishment governed by the provisions of this chapter shall inform consumers, at the final point of sale, of the products' authenticity as a meat or nonmeat product with appropriate labeling indicating such in a manner consistent with the requirements of Section 8 of this act. (5) If the commissioner has reason to believe that any marking or labeling or the size or form of any container in use or proposed for use with respect to any item subject to this article is false or misleading in any particular, he may direct that such use be withheld unless the marking, labeling, or container is modified in such manner as he may prescribe so that it will not be false or misleading. If the person, firm, or corporation using or proposing to use the marking, labeling or container does not accept the determination of the commissioner, such person, firm, or corporation may request a hearing, but the use of the marking, labeling, or container shall, if the commissioner so directs, be withheld pending hearing and final determination by the commissioner. Any party aggrieved by such final determination may, within thirty (30) days after receipt of notice of such final determination, effect an appeal therefrom to the chancery court of the county in which such party resides or in which the principal place of his business is domiciled; and, on appeal, such chancery court shall affirm, modify, or set aside the commissioner's final determination. SECTION 11. Section 75-33-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 75-33-3. (1) For the purpose of this article, the words and terms used herein shall have ascribed to them the following meanings: (a) The word "person" shall include individuals, partnerships, corporations, associations, and any other legal entity recognized by law. (b) The terms "meat" and "meat-food products" whenever used in this article, shall include the carcasses or parts thereof, of cattle, sheep, goats, other ruminants, including exotic animals, swine, horses, mules, rabbits, poultry and ratites and the meat and meat-food products of such animals. (c) The term "food unfit for human consumption" shall be construed to include the meat and meat-food products of horses and mules and all meats or meat-food products which are so affected with disease that it would be dangerous to use the meat or other parts for human food; also, all meats or meat-food products which are contaminated, putrid, unsound, unhealthful, or otherwise unfit for food, or which have been derived from any animal which has died as a result of disease or accident, or which was in a dying condition at the time of slaughter. (d) The word "establishment" as used in this article, shall include: (i) any building or structure in which slaughtering, butchering, meat processing, meat canning, meat packing, meat manufacturing or rendering is carried on; and (ii) the ground upon which such building or structure is erected, and so much ground adjacent thereto as is used in carrying on the business of such establishment, including drains, gutters, waste disposal and cesspools used in connection with the establishment. (e) The word "equipment" as used in this article, shall include all machinery, fixtures, containers, vessels, tools, implements and apparatus used in and about an establishment. (f) The word "commissioner" as used in this article, shall mean the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, or his duly authorized deputies. (g) The word "ratite" means a member of a group of large flightless birds including the ostrich, rhea and emu. (h) The words "exotic animal" mean a member of a species of game not indigenous to this state, including axis deer, fallow deer, red deer or other cloven-hooved ruminant animals and ratites. (i) The term "food establishment" means any place, vehicle, or vessel that prepares, stores, holds, transports, serves, or dispenses food for human consumption. (2) All persons engaged in business as a meat broker, jobber, dealer, distributor, peddler, transporter, or wholesaler of any carcasses of meat animals or poultry or parts or products thereof, whether fresh, frozen, cured or otherwise and whether canned, wrapped, packaged or prepackaged, but not otherwise handled, whether intended for human food or other purposes, or any person engaged in the business as a public warehouseman storing any such items or products shall register with the commissioner on forms provided and shall operate under the applicable inspection authority provided in this article and by the Mississippi Meat Inspection Act of 1968 [Chapter 35 of Title 75], provided persons operating the aforementioned nonslaughter and nonprocessing businesses are exempt from the license and fee specified in Section 75-33-7. (3) The slaughtering by any person of animals and poultry of his own raising, and the processing and transportation by him of animals and poultry products exclusively for use by him and members of his household and his nonpaying guests and employees, shall be exempt from the provisions of this article. Any other operations of an unlicensed, unapproved slaughterhouse and/or processing facility to escape the provisions of this article shall be unlawful, and any person found guilty of such violation shall be punished as provided in Section 75-33-37. (4) The provisions of this article shall not apply to poultry producers with respect to poultry of their own raising on their own farms on the same basis as now provided in the United States Wholesome Poultry Products Act and regulations thereunder, and such exemptions shall be consistent with said act and regulations. However, the adulteration and misbranding provisions of said act, other than the requirement of the inspection legend, shall apply to articles which are exempt from inspection by said act and regulations. SECTION 12. Section 75-33-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 75-33-7. (1) It shall be the duty of every person operating an establishment or food establishment as defined in Section 75-33-3, except retail dealers, restaurants or eating places and establishments operating under the United States Department of Agriculture system of inspection, to apply to the commissioner for a license to operate such establishment * * *before July 1, 1960, and annually thereafter before July of each succeeding year, and pay to the commissioner at the time said application for registration and license is filed, a fee of ten dollars ($10.00) for each establishment operated, and a like fee of ten dollars ($10.00) for the renewal thereof. The fees for the issuance of the license and the renewals thereof, together with such other fees and charges authorized by this article, shall be kept by the commissioner in a separate fund to be used to defray the expenses of the enforcement of this article. A strict accounting shall be made of all funds received and disbursed. (2) The application for a license shall be made on a form to be supplied by the commissioner, and shall show the location of each establishment and the name and address of the owner, and the name and address of the lessor or lessee. The application shall have attached thereto the affidavit of the person applying for the license that the facts set forth are true and correct. (3) Upon approval of application for license and payment of license fee, and upon approval of sanitary conditions in the establishment, and every place used in connection therewith, the commissioner shall issue to each applicant a license which shall expire on June 30 of each year, and which shall authorize the operation of said establishment for the fiscal year, or portion thereof, for which a license is issued. (4) Such license shall be posted in a conspicuous place in or at the place of business of such licensee, and exposed for inspection by any person or persons who may be properly authorized to make such examination. (5) From and after the first day of July 1960, it shall be unlawful for any person to operate an establishment unless said establishment is duly licensed and inspected in accordance with the provisions of this article. The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall develop and administer a poultry inspection program which shall require mandatory poultry product inspection that imposes antemortem and postmortem inspection, reinspection and sanitation requirements that are at least equal to those under the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act of 1968 [21 USCS 451 et seq.], and the regulations thereunder with respect to all or certain classes of persons engaged in slaughtering poultry or processing poultry products for use as human food solely for distribution with this state. Any existing provision of law in regard to fees, mandatory requirements, other options, or inspection administration in conflict herewith, shall not affect the foregoing mandatory inspection provision. Provided, further, that the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall be authorized to enter into a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture for compliance with the Poultry Products Inspection Act of 1968 and amendments thereto [21 USCS 451 et seq.], for the purpose of financing and enforcing a mandatory antemortem and postmortem inspection, reinspection and sanitation requirements that are at least equal to those under the within cited federal act with respect to all or certain persons engaged in slaughtering poultry or processing poultry products in this state for use as human food solely for distribution within this state. The commissioner is further empowered to make inspection of other poultry slaughtering and processing facilities when he deems same necessary to the proper sanitation and distribution of such products solely within this state. SECTION 13. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025. |
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