North Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Carolina House Bill H134 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
2	2		SESSION 2025
3		-	H 2
	3	+	H 1
4	4		HOUSE BILL 134
5		-	~~Committee Substitute Favorable 3/11/25~~
	5	+
6	6
7	7		Short Title: Prohibit Misbranding of Certain Food Products. (Public)
8		-	Sponsors:
9		-	Referred to:
	8	+	Sponsors: Representative Dixon.
	9	+	For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
	10	+	Referred to: Health, if favorable, Commerce and Economic Development, if favorable,
	11	+	Agriculture and Environment, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the
	12	+	House
10	13		February 18, 2025
11		-	H134 -v-2
	14	+	H134 -v-1
12	15		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
13	16		AN ACT TO PROHIBIT THE MISBRANDING OF CERTAIN FOOD PRODUCTS. 2
14	17		The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 3
15	18		SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 106-549.15 reads as rewritten: 4
16	19		"§ 106-549.15. Definitions. 5
17	20		As used in this Article, except as otherwise specified, the following terms shall have the 6
18	21		meanings stated below: 7
19	22		… 8
20	23		(1a) "Agricultural food animal" means a domesticated animal belonging to the 9
21	24		bovine, caprine, ovine, or porcine species. 10
22	25		… 11
23	26		(5a) "Cell-cultured food product" means a food product having one or more 12
24	27		sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from an 13
25	28		agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat 14
26	29		processing, is derived from manufacturing cells, in which one or more stem 15
27	30		cells are initially isolated from an agricultural food animal, are grown in vitro, 16
28	31		and may be manipulated, as part of a manufacturing operation. 17
29	32		(5b) "Close proximity" means any of the following: 18
30	33		a. Immediately before or after the name of the product. 19
31	34		b. In the line of the label immediately before or after the line containing 20
32	35		the name of the product. 21
33	36		c. Within the same phrase or sentence containing the name of the 22
34	37		product. 23
35	38		… 24
36	39		(9a) "Identifying meat term" means any word or phrase that states, indicates, 25
37	40		suggests, or describes a meat product, regardless of whether the word or 26
38	41		phrase is used individually, as a portmanteau, or as a compound word. This 27
39	42		term includes all of the following: 28
40	43		a. A common name for the species of the agricultural food animal subject 29
41	44		to slaughter and processing, including a calf or cow, goat or kid, hog 30
42		-	or pig, lamb, or sheep. 31
43		-	b. A common name for a characteristic of a species of the agricultural 32
44		-	food animal subject to slaughter and processing based on age, breed, 33
45		-	or sex. 34
46		-	c. Meat; beef or veal; cabrito or chevon; lamb or mutton; or pork. 35 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
47		-	Page 2 House Bill 134-Second Edition
48		-	d. A common name used to describe a major cut of a meat of an 1
49		-	agricultural food animal slaughtered and processed, including a major 2
50		-	meat cut specified in 9 C.F.R. § 317.344, or the common name of an 3
51		-	organ or offal, including heart, liver, kidney, or tongue. 4
52		-	e. Any other common name that a reasonable purchaser would 5
53		-	immediately and exclusively associate with a meat product prepared 6
54		-	for sale in normal commercial channels such as bacon, baloney, 7
55		-	bologna, bone, brat or bratwurst, brisket, burger or hamburger, butt, 8
56		-	chop, chuck, cold cut, cutlet, filet, flat iron, frank or frankfurter, ham, 9
57		-	hock, hot dog, jerky, liverwurst, loin, London broil, lunch meat, New 10
58		-	York strip, pepperoni, porterhouse, ribeye, roast, rib or sparerib, 11
59		-	salami, sausage, shank, sirloin, tenderloin, or a comparable word or 12
60		-	phrase. 13
61		-	… 14
62		-	(14) "Meat food product" means any product capable of use as human food that is 15
63		-	made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass of any 16
64		-	cattle, sheep, swine, goats, bison, fallow deer, or red deer, or any cell-cultured 17
65		-	food product made from cells of those animals, excepting products that 18
66		-	contain meat or other portions of such carcasses only in a relatively small 19
67		-	proportion or historically have not been considered by consumers as products 20
68		-	of the meat food industry, and that are exempted from definition as a meat 21
69		-	food product by the Board under such conditions as it may prescribe to assure 22
70		-	that the meat or other portions of such carcasses contained in such product are 23
71		-	not adulterated and that such products are not represented as meat food 24
72		-	products. This term as applied to food products of equines shall have a 25
73		-	meaning comparable to that provided in this subdivision with respect to cattle, 26
74		-	sheep, swine, goats, and bison. 27
75		-	(15) "Misbranded" shall apply to any carcass, part thereof, meat or meat food 28
76		-	product under one or more of the following circumstances: 29
77		-	a. If its labeling is false or misleading in any particular; 30
78		-	b. If it is offered for sale under the name of another food; 31
79		-	c. If it is imitation of another food, unless its label bears, in type of 32
80		-	uniform size and prominence, the word "imitation" and immediately 33
81		-	thereafter, the name of the food imitated; 34
82		-	… 35
83		-	m. The product is a cell-cultured food product and it is not labeled in 36
84		-	accordance with G.S. 106-549.28A. 37
85		-	… 38
86		-	(21a) "Qualifying term" means a word, compound word, or phrase that would 39
87		-	clearly disclose to a reasonable purchaser of meat food products that a food 40
88		-	product is a cell-cultured meat product. This includes the following terms: 41
89		-	"cell-cultured," "fake," "lab-grown," or "grown in a lab." 42
90		-	(21b) "Ratite" means a bird whose breastbone is smooth so that flight muscles 43
91		-	cannot attach, such as an ostrich, an emu, and a rhea. These birds are subject 44
92		-	to the provisions of this Article and Article 49C to the same extent as any other 45
93		-	meat food product. 46
94		-	…." 47
95		-	SECTION 1.(b) Article 49B of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes is amended by 48
96		-	adding a new section to read: 49
97		-	"§ 106-549.28A. Labeling of cell-cultured food products. 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
98		-	House Bill 134-Second Edition Page 3
99		-	(a) The label of any cell-cultured food product that contains an identifying meat term 1
100		-	shall also contain in at least 20-point font or the size of the surrounding type, whichever is greater, 2
101		-	and in close proximity to the name of the product, an appropriate qualifying term. 3
102		-	(b) A cell-cultured food product that does not meet the requirements of this section shall 4
103		-	be deemed misbranded for purposes of this Article." 5
104		-	SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 106-549.51 reads as rewritten: 6
105		-	"§ 106-549.51. Definitions. 7
106		-	For purposes of this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings stated below: 8
107		-	… 9
108		-	(4a) "Cell-cultured food product" means a food product having one or more 10
109		-	sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from poultry but 11
110		-	that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from 12
111		-	manufacturing cells, in which one or more stem cells are initially isolated from 13
112		-	poultry, are grown in vitro, and may be manipulated, as part of a 14
113		-	manufacturing operation. 15
114		-	(4b) "Close proximity" means any of the following: 16
115		-	a. Immediately before or after the name of the product. 17
116		-	b. In the line of the label immediately before or after the line containing 18
117		-	the name of the product. 19
118		-	c. Within the same phrase or sentence containing the name of the 20
119		-	product. 21
	45	+	or pig, lamb, or sheep. 31 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
	46	+	Page 2 House Bill 134-First Edition
	47	+	b. A common name for a characteristic of a species of the agricultural 1
	48	+	food animal subject to slaughter and processing based on age, breed, 2
	49	+	or sex. 3
	50	+	c. Meat; beef or veal; cabrito or chevon; lamb or mutton; or pork. 4
	51	+	d. A common name used to describe a major cut of a meat of an 5
	52	+	agricultural food animal slaughtered and processed, including a major 6
	53	+	meat cut specified in 9 C.F.R. § 317.344, or the common name of an 7
	54	+	organ or offal, including heart, liver, kidney, or tongue. 8
	55	+	e. Any other common name that a reasonable purchaser would 9
	56	+	immediately and exclusively associate with a meat product prepared 10
	57	+	for sale in normal commercial channels such as bacon, baloney, 11
	58	+	bologna, bone, brat or bratwurst, brisket, burger or hamburger, butt, 12
	59	+	chop, chuck, cold cut, cutlet, filet, flat iron, frank or frankfurter, ham, 13
	60	+	hock, hot dog, jerky, liverwurst, loin, London broil, lunch meat, New 14
	61	+	York strip, pepperoni, porterhouse, ribeye, roast, rib or sparerib, 15
	62	+	salami, sausage, shank, sirloin, tenderloin, or a comparable word or 16
	63	+	phrase. 17
	64	+	(9b) "Insect-protein food product" means a food product having one or more 18
	65	+	sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from an 19
	66	+	agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat 20
	67	+	processing, is derived from manufacturing insect parts. 21
120	68		… 22
121		-	(10a) "Identifying poultry term" means any word or phrase that states, indicates, 23
122		-	suggests, or describes a poultry product, regardless of whether the word or 24
123		-	phrase is used individually, as a portmanteau, or as a compound word. This 25
124		-	term includes all of the following: 26
125		-	a. A common name for the species of the poultry subject to slaughter and 27
126		-	processing, including chicken, poultry, or turkey. 28
127		-	b. A common name for a characteristic of a species of the poultry subject 29
128		-	to slaughter and processing based on age, breed, or sex. 30
129		-	c. Meat, broiler, fryer, poulet, or yearling. 31
130		-	d. A common name used to describe a major cut of poultry slaughtered 32
131		-	and processed, including a poultry product such as breast, drumstick, 33
132		-	giblet, thigh, or wing; or the common name of an organ or offal, 34
133		-	including gizzard, heart, liver, kidney, or tongue. 35
134		-	e. Any other common name that a reasonable purchaser would 36
135		-	immediately and exclusively associate with a poultry product prepared 37
136		-	for sale in normal commercial channels. 38
	69	+	(12a) "Manufactured-protein food product" means a cell-cultured food product, 23
	70	+	insect-protein food product, or plant-protein food product. 24
	71	+	… 25
	72	+	(14) "Meat food product" means any product capable of use as human food that is 26
	73	+	made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass of any 27
	74	+	cattle, sheep, swine, goats, bison, fallow deer, or red deer, or any cell-cultured 28
	75	+	food product made from cells of those animals, excepting products that 29
	76	+	contain meat or other portions of such carcasses only in a relatively small 30
	77	+	proportion or historically have not been considered by consumers as products 31
	78	+	of the meat food industry, and that are exempted from definition as a meat 32
	79	+	food product by the Board under such conditions as it may prescribe to assure 33
	80	+	that the meat or other portions of such carcasses contained in such product are 34
	81	+	not adulterated and that such products are not represented as meat food 35
	82	+	products. This term as applied to food products of equines shall have a 36
	83	+	meaning comparable to that provided in this subdivision with respect to cattle, 37
	84	+	sheep, swine, goats, and bison. 38
	85	+	(15) "Misbranded" shall apply to any carcass, part thereof, meat or meat food 39
	86	+	product under one or more of the following circumstances: 40
	87	+	a. If its labeling is false or misleading in any particular; 41
	88	+	b. If it is offered for sale under the name of another food; 42
	89	+	c. If it is imitation of another food, unless its label bears, in type of 43
	90	+	uniform size and prominence, the word "imitation" and immediately 44
	91	+	thereafter, the name of the food imitated; 45
	92	+	… 46
	93	+	m. The product is a cell-cultured food product and it is not labeled in 47
	94	+	accordance with G.S. 106-549.28A. 48
	95	+	… 49
	96	+	(20a) "Plant-protein food product" means a food product having one or more 50
	97	+	sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from an 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
	98	+	House Bill 134-First Edition Page 3
	99	+	agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat 1
	100	+	processing, is derived from manufacturing plant or fungus parts. 2
	101	+	… 3
	102	+	(21a) "Qualifying term" means a word, compound word, or phrase that would 4
	103	+	clearly disclose to a reasonable purchaser of meat products that a food product 5
	104	+	is not a meat product. This includes the following terms: "cell-cultured," 6
	105	+	"fake," "grown in a lab," "insect," "insect-based," "insect-protein," 7
	106	+	"lab-created," "lab-grown," "meat free," "meatless," "plant," "plant-based," 8
	107	+	"vegan," "vegetable," "vegetarian," or "veggie." 9
	108	+	(21b) "Ratite" means a bird whose breastbone is smooth so that flight muscles 10
	109	+	cannot attach, such as an ostrich, an emu, and a rhea. These birds are subject 11
	110	+	to the provisions of this Article and Article 49C to the same extent as any other 12
	111	+	meat food product. 13
	112	+	…." 14
	113	+	SECTION 1.(b) Article 49B of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes is amended by 15
	114	+	adding a new section to read: 16
	115	+	"§ 106-549.28A. Labeling of manufactured-protein food products. 17
	116	+	(a) The label of any manufactured-protein food product that contains an identifying meat 18
	117	+	term shall also contain in at least 20-point font or the size of the surrounding type, whichever is 19
	118	+	greater, and in close proximity to the name of the product, an appropriate qualifying term. 20
	119	+	(b) A manufactured-protein food product that does not meet the requirements of this 21
	120	+	section shall be deemed misbranded for purposes of this Article." 22
	121	+	SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 106-549.51 reads as rewritten: 23
	122	+	"§ 106-549.51. Definitions. 24
	123	+	For purposes of this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings stated below: 25
	124	+	… 26
	125	+	(4a) "Cell-cultured food product" means a food product having one or more 27
	126	+	sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from poultry but 28
	127	+	that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from 29
	128	+	manufacturing cells, in which one or more stem cells are initially isolated from 30
	129	+	poultry, are grown in vitro, and may be manipulated, as part of a 31
	130	+	manufacturing operation. 32
	131	+	(4b) "Close proximity" means any of the following: 33
	132	+	a. Immediately before or after the name of the product. 34
	133	+	b. In the line of the label immediately before or after the line containing 35
	134	+	the name of the product. 36
	135	+	c. Within the same phrase or sentence containing the name of the 37
	136	+	product. 38
137	137		… 39
138		-	(17) "Misbranded" shall apply to any poultry product under one or more of the 40
139		-	following circumstances: 41
140		-	a. If its labeling is false or misleading in any particular; 42
141		-	b. If it is offered for sale under the name of another food; 43
142		-	c. If it is an imitation of another food, unless its label bears, in type of 44
143		-	uniform size and prominence, the word "imitation" and immediately 45
144		-	thereafter, the name of the food imitated; 46
145		-	… 47
146		-	m. If it is a cell-cultured food product and it is not labeled in accordance 48
147		-	with G.S. 106-549.55(e). 49
	138	+	(10a) "Identifying poultry term" means any word or phrase that states, indicates, 40
	139	+	suggests, or describes a poultry product, regardless of whether the word or 41
	140	+	phrase is used individually, as a portmanteau, or as a compound word. This 42
	141	+	term includes all of the following: 43
	142	+	a. A common name for the species of the poultry subject to slaughter and 44
	143	+	processing, including chicken, poultry, or turkey. 45
	144	+	b. A common name for a characteristic of a species of the poultry subject 46
	145	+	to slaughter and processing based on age, breed, or sex. 47
	146	+	c. Meat, broiler, fryer, poulet, or yearling. 48
	147	+	d. A common name used to describe a major cut of poultry slaughtered 49
	148	+	and processed, including a poultry product such as breast, drumstick, 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
	149	+	Page 4 House Bill 134-First Edition
	150	+	giblet, thigh, or wing; or the common name of an organ or offal, 1
	151	+	including gizzard, heart, liver, kidney, or tongue. 2
	152	+	e. Any other common name that a reasonable purchaser would 3
	153	+	immediately and exclusively associate with a poultry product prepared 4
	154	+	for sale in normal commercial channels. 5
	155	+	… 6
	156	+	(11a) "Insect-protein food product" means a food product having one or more 7
	157	+	sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from poultry but 8
	158	+	that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from 9
	159	+	manufacturing insect parts. 10
	160	+	… 11
	161	+	(16a) "Manufactured-protein food product" means a cell-cultured food product, 12
	162	+	insect-protein food product, or plant-protein food product. 13
	163	+	(17) "Misbranded" shall apply to any poultry product under one or more of the 14
	164	+	following circumstances: 15
	165	+	a. If its labeling is false or misleading in any particular; 16
	166	+	b. If it is offered for sale under the name of another food; 17
	167	+	c. If it is an imitation of another food, unless its label bears, in type of 18
	168	+	uniform size and prominence, the word "imitation" and immediately 19
	169	+	thereafter, the name of the food imitated; 20
	170	+	… 21
	171	+	m. If it is a manufactured-protein food product and it is not labeled in 22
	172	+	accordance with G.S. 106-549.55(e). 23
	173	+	… 24
	174	+	(24a) "Plant-protein food product" means a food product having one or more 25
	175	+	sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from poultry but 26
	176	+	that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from 27
	177	+	manufacturing plant or fungus parts. 28
	178	+	… 29
	179	+	(26) "Poultry product" means any poultry carcass, or part thereof; or any product 30
	180	+	which is made wholly or in part from any poultry carcass or part thereof, or 31
	181	+	any cell-cultured food product made from cells of poultry, excepting products 32
	182	+	which contain poultry ingredients only in a relatively small proportion or 33
	183	+	historically have not been considered by consumers as products of the poultry 34
	184	+	food industry, and which are exempted by the Board from definition as a 35
	185	+	poultry product under such conditions as the Board may prescribe to assure 36
	186	+	that the poultry ingredients in such products are not adulterated and that such 37
	187	+	products are not represented as poultry products. 38
	188	+	… 39
	189	+	(28a) "Qualifying term" means a word, compound word, or phrase that would 40
	190	+	clearly disclose to a reasonable purchaser of poultry products that a food 41
	191	+	product is not a poultry product. This includes the following terms: 42
	192	+	"cell-cultured," "fake," "grown in a lab," "insect," "insect-based," 43
	193	+	"insect-protein," "lab-created," "lab-grown," "meat free," "meatless," "plant," 44
	194	+	"plant-based," "vegan," "vegetable," "vegetarian," or "veggie." 45
	195	+	…." 46
	196	+	SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 106-549.55 reads as rewritten: 47
	197	+	"§ 106-549.55. Labeling standards; false and misleading labels.labels; labeling of 48
	198	+	manufactured-protein food products. 49
148	199		… 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
149		-	Page 4 House Bill 134-Second Edition
150		-	(26) "Poultry product" means any poultry carcass, or part thereof; or any product 1
151		-	which is made wholly or in part from any poultry carcass or part thereof, or 2
152		-	any cell-cultured food product made from cells of poultry, excepting products 3
153		-	which contain poultry ingredients only in a relatively small proportion or 4
154		-	historically have not been considered by consumers as products of the poultry 5
155		-	food industry, and which are exempted by the Board from definition as a 6
156		-	poultry product under such conditions as the Board may prescribe to assure 7
157		-	that the poultry ingredients in such products are not adulterated and that such 8
158		-	products are not represented as poultry products. 9
159		-	… 10
160		-	(28a) "Qualifying term" means a word, compound word, or phrase that would 11
161		-	clearly disclose to a reasonable purchaser of poultry products that a food 12
162		-	product is a cell-cultured food product. This includes the following terms: 13
163		-	"cell-cultured," "fake," "lab-grown," or "grown in a lab." 14
164		-	…." 15
165		-	SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 106-549.55 reads as rewritten: 16
166		-	"§ 106-549.55. Labeling standards; false and misleading labels.labels; labeling of 17
167		-	cell-cultured food products. 18
168		-	… 19
169		-	(e) The label of any cell-cultured food product that contains an identifying poultry term 20
170		-	shall also contain in at least 20-point font or the size of the surrounding type, whichever is greater, 21
171		-	and in close proximity to the name of the product, an appropriate qualifying term." 22
172		-	SECTION 3. This act becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to products 23
173		-	sold or offered for sale on or after that date. 24
	200	+	House Bill 134-First Edition Page 5
	201	+	(e) The label of any manufactured-protein food product that contains an identifying 1
	202	+	poultry term shall also contain in at least 20-point font or the size of the surrounding type, 2
	203	+	whichever is greater, and in close proximity to the name of the product, an appropriate qualifying 3
	204	+	term." 4
	205	+	SECTION 3. This act becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to products 5
	206	+	sold or offered for sale on or after that date. 6