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North Carolina House Bill H471

North Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Carolina House Bill H471 Compare Versions

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11 GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
22 SESSION 2025
3-H 3
3+H 2
44 HOUSE BILL 471
55 Committee Substitute Favorable 4/1/25
6-Committee Substitute #2 Favorable 4/8/25
76
87 Short Title: Food Labeling Transparency Act. (Public)
98 Sponsors:
109 Referred to:
1110 March 24, 2025
12-*H471 -v-3*
11+*H471 -v-2*
1312 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
1413 AN ACT TO PROHIBIT THE MISBRANDING OF CERTAIN FOOD PRODUCTS. 2
1514 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 3
1615 4
1716 REQUIRE LABELING OF MANUFACTURED -PROTEIN MEAT PRODUCTS 5
1817 SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 106-549.15 reads as rewritten: 6
1918 "§ 106-549.15. Definitions. 7
2019 As used in this Article, except as otherwise specified, the following terms shall have the 8
2120 meanings stated below: 9
2221 … 10
2322 (1a) "Agricultural food animal" means a domesticated animal belonging to the 11
2423 bovine, caprine, ovine, or porcine species. 12
2524 … 13
2625 (5a) "Cell-cultured food product" means a food product having one or more 14
2726 sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from an 15
2827 agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat 16
2928 processing, is derived from manufacturing cells, in which one or more stem 17
3029 cells are initially isolated from an agricultural food animal, are grown in vitro, 18
3130 and may be manipulated, as part of a manufacturing operation. 19
3231 (5b) "Close proximity" means any of the following: 20
3332 a. Immediately before or after the name of the product. 21
3433 b. In the line of the label immediately before or after the line containing 22
3534 the name of the product. 23
3635 c. Within the same phrase or sentence containing the name of the 24
3736 product. 25
3837 … 26
3938 (9a) "Identifying meat term" means any word or phrase that states, indicates, 27
4039 suggests, or describes a meat product, regardless of whether the word or 28
4140 phrase is used individually, as a portmanteau, or as a compound word. This 29
4241 term includes all of the following: 30
4342 a. A common name for the species of the agricultural food animal subject 31
4443 to slaughter and processing, including a calf or cow, goat or kid, hog 32
45-or pig, lamb, or sheep. 33 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
46-Page 2 House Bill 471-Third 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 manufactured from insect parts. 21
44+or pig, lamb, or sheep. 33
45+b. A common name for a characteristic of a species of the agricultural 34
46+food animal subject to slaughter and processing based on age, breed, 35
47+or sex. 36 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
48+Page 2 House Bill 471-Second Edition
49+c. Meat; beef or veal; cabrito or chevon; lamb or mutton; or pork. 1
50+d. A common name used to describe a major cut of a meat of an 2
51+agricultural food animal slaughtered and processed, including a major 3
52+meat cut specified in 9 C.F.R. § 317.344, or the common name of an 4
53+organ or offal, including heart, liver, kidney, or tongue. 5
54+e. Any other common name that a reasonable purchaser would 6
55+immediately and exclusively associate with a meat product prepared 7
56+for sale in normal commercial channels such as bacon, baloney, 8
57+bologna, bone, brat or bratwurst, brisket, burger or hamburger, butt, 9
58+chop, chuck, cold cut, cutlet, filet, flat iron, frank or frankfurter, ham, 10
59+hock, hot dog, jerky, liverwurst, loin, London broil, lunch meat, New 11
60+York strip, pepperoni, porterhouse, ribeye, roast, rib or sparerib, 12
61+salami, sausage, shank, sirloin, tenderloin, or a comparable word or 13
62+phrase. 14
63+(9b) "Insect-protein food product" means a food product having one or more 15
64+sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from an 16
65+agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat 17
66+processing, is manufactured from insect parts. 18
67+… 19
68+(12a) "Manufactured-protein food product" means a cell-cultured food product or 20
69+insect-protein food product. 21
6870 … 22
69-(12a) "Manufactured-protein food product" means a cell-cultured food product or 23
70-insect-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
71+(14) "Meat food product" means any product capable of use as human food that is 23
72+made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass of any 24
73+cattle, sheep, swine, goats, bison, fallow deer, or red deer, or any cell-cultured 25
74+food product made from cells of those animals, excepting products that 26
75+contain meat or other portions of such carcasses only in a relatively small 27
76+proportion or historically have not been considered by consumers as products 28
77+of the meat food industry, and that are exempted from definition as a meat 29
78+food product by the Board under such conditions as it may prescribe to assure 30
79+that the meat or other portions of such carcasses contained in such product are 31
80+not adulterated and that such products are not represented as meat food 32
81+products. This term as applied to food products of equines shall have a 33
82+meaning comparable to that provided in this subdivision with respect to cattle, 34
83+sheep, swine, goats, and bison. 35
84+(15) "Misbranded" shall apply to any carcass, part thereof, meat or meat food 36
85+product under one or more of the following circumstances: 37
86+a. If its labeling is false or misleading in any particular; 38
87+b. If it is offered for sale under the name of another food; 39
88+c. If it is imitation of another food, unless its label bears, in type of 40
89+uniform size and prominence, the word "imitation" and immediately 41
90+thereafter, the name of the food imitated; 42
91+… 43
92+m. The product is a manufactured-protein food product and it is not 44
93+labeled in accordance with G.S. 106-549.28A. 45
9294 … 46
93-m. The product is a manufactured-protein food product and it is not 47
94-labeled in accordance with G.S. 106-549.28A. 48
95-… 49
96-(21a) "Qualifying term" means a word, compound word, or phrase that would 50
97-clearly disclose to a reasonable purchaser of meat products that a food product 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
98-House Bill 471-Third Edition Page 3
99-is not a meat product. This includes the following terms: "cell-cultured," 1
100-"cultivated," "cell-cultivated," "fake," "grown in a lab," "insect," 2
101-"insect-based," "insect-protein," "lab-created," or "lab-grown." 3
102-(21b) "Ratite" means a bird whose breastbone is smooth so that flight muscles 4
103-cannot attach, such as an ostrich, an emu, and a rhea. These birds are subject 5
104-to the provisions of this Article and Article 49C to the same extent as any other 6
105-meat food product. 7
106-…." 8
107-SECTION 1.(b) Article 49B of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes is amended by 9
108-adding a new section to read: 10
109-"§ 106-549.28A. Labeling of manufactured-protein food products. 11
110-(a) The label of any manufactured-protein food product that contains an identifying meat 12
111-term shall also contain an appropriate qualifying term in prominent type and in close proximity 13
112-to the name of the product. 14
113-(b) A manufactured-protein food product that does not meet the requirements of this 15
114-section shall be deemed misbranded for purposes of this Article, provided that the Commissioner 16
115-shall not enforce the prohibition set forth in G.S. 106-549.23(3) with respect to a product deemed 17
116-misbranded under this section against any person other than the manufacturer of the 18
117-manufactured-protein food product." 19
118-SECTION 1.(c) This section becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to 20
119-products sold or offered for sale on or after that date. 21
120- 22
121-REQUIRE LABELING OF MANUFACTURED -PROTEIN POULTRY PRODUCTS 23
122-SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 106-549.51 reads as rewritten: 24
123-"§ 106-549.51. Definitions. 25
124-For purposes of this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings stated below: 26
125-… 27
126-(4a) "Cell-cultured food product" means a food product having one or more 28
127-sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from poultry but 29
128-that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from 30
129-manufacturing cells, in which one or more stem cells are initially isolated from 31
130-poultry, are grown in vitro, and may be manipulated, as part of a 32
131-manufacturing operation. 33
132-(4b) "Close proximity" means any of the following: 34
133-a. Immediately before or after the name of the product. 35
134-b. In the line of the label immediately before or after the line containing 36
135-the name of the product. 37
136-c. Within the same phrase or sentence containing the name of the 38
137-product. 39
138-… 40
139-(10a) "Identifying poultry term" means any word or phrase that states, indicates, 41
140-suggests, or describes a poultry product, regardless of whether the word or 42
141-phrase is used individually, as a portmanteau, or as a compound word. This 43
142-term includes all of the following: 44
143-a. A common name for the species of the poultry subject to slaughter and 45
144-processing, including chicken, poultry, or turkey. 46
145-b. A common name for a characteristic of a species of the poultry subject 47
146-to slaughter and processing based on age, breed, or sex. 48
147-c. Meat, broiler, fryer, poulet, or yearling. 49
148-d. A common name used to describe a major cut of poultry slaughtered 50
149-and processed, including a poultry product such as breast, drumstick, 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
150-Page 4 House Bill 471-Third Edition
151-giblet, thigh, or wing; or the common name of an organ or offal, 1
152-including gizzard, heart, liver, kidney, or tongue. 2
153-e. Any other common name that a reasonable purchaser would 3
154-immediately and exclusively associate with a poultry product prepared 4
155-for sale in normal commercial channels. 5
156-… 6
157-(11a) "Insect-protein food product" means a food product having one or more 7
158-sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from poultry but 8
159-that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is manufactured from 9
160-insect parts. 10
161-… 11
162-(16a) "Manufactured-protein food product" means a cell-cultured food product, or 12
163-insect-protein food product. 13
164-(17) "Misbranded" shall apply to any poultry product under one or more of the 14
165-following circumstances: 15
166-a. If its labeling is false or misleading in any particular; 16
167-b. If it is offered for sale under the name of another food; 17
168-c. If it is an imitation of another food, unless its label bears, in type of 18
169-uniform size and prominence, the word "imitation" and immediately 19
170-thereafter, the name of the food imitated; 20
171-… 21
172-m. If it is a manufactured-protein food product and it is not labeled in 22
173-accordance with G.S. 106-549.55(e). 23
95+(21a) "Qualifying term" means a word, compound word, or phrase that would 47
96+clearly disclose to a reasonable purchaser of meat products that a food product 48
97+is not a meat product. This includes the following terms: "cell-cultured," 49
98+"cultivated," "cell-cultivated," "fake," "grown in a lab," "insect," 50
99+"insect-based," "insect-protein," "lab-created," or "lab-grown." 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
100+House Bill 471-Second Edition Page 3
101+(21b) "Ratite" means a bird whose breastbone is smooth so that flight muscles 1
102+cannot attach, such as an ostrich, an emu, and a rhea. These birds are subject 2
103+to the provisions of this Article and Article 49C to the same extent as any other 3
104+meat food product. 4
105+…." 5
106+SECTION 1.(b) Article 49B of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes is amended by 6
107+adding a new section to read: 7
108+"§ 106-549.28A. Labeling of manufactured-protein food products. 8
109+(a) The label of any manufactured-protein food product that contains an identifying meat 9
110+term shall also contain an appropriate qualifying term in prominent type and in close proximity 10
111+to the name of the product. 11
112+(b) A manufactured-protein food product that does not meet the requirements of this 12
113+section shall be deemed misbranded for purposes of this Article, provided that the Commissioner 13
114+shall not enforce the prohibition set forth in G.S. 106-549.23(3) with respect to a product deemed 14
115+misbranded under this section against any person other than the manufacturer of the 15
116+manufactured-protein food product." 16
117+SECTION 1.(c) This section becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to 17
118+products sold or offered for sale on or after that date. 18
119+ 19
120+REQUIRE LABELING OF MANUFACTURED -PROTEIN POULTRY PRODUCTS 20
121+SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 106-549.51 reads as rewritten: 21
122+"§ 106-549.51. Definitions. 22
123+For purposes of this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings stated below: 23
174124 … 24
175-(26) "Poultry product" means any poultry carcass, or part thereof; or any product 25
176-which is made wholly or in part from any poultry carcass or part thereof, or 26
177-any cell-cultured food product made from cells of poultry, excepting products 27
178-which contain poultry ingredients only in a relatively small proportion or 28
179-historically have not been considered by consumers as products of the poultry 29
180-food industry, and which are exempted by the Board from definition as a 30
181-poultry product under such conditions as the Board may prescribe to assure 31
182-that the poultry ingredients in such products are not adulterated and that such 32
183-products are not represented as poultry products. 33
184-… 34
185-(28a) "Qualifying term" means a word compound word, or phrase that would clearly 35
186-disclose to a reasonable purchaser of poultry products that a food product is 36
187-not a poultry product. This includes the following terms: "cell-cultured," 37
188-"cultivated," "cell-cultivated," "fake," "grown in a lab," "insect," 38
189-"insect-based," "insect-protein," "lab-created," or "lab-grown." 39
190-…." 40
191-SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 106-549.55 reads as rewritten: 41
192-"§ 106-549.55. Labeling standards; false and misleading labels.labels; labeling of 42
193-manufactured-protein food products. 43
194-… 44
195-(e) The manufacturer of a manufactured-protein food product must ensure that the label 45
196-of any manufactured-protein food product offered for sale in this State that contains an 46
197-identifying poultry term shall also contain an appropriate qualifying term in prominent type and 47
198-in close proximity to the name of the product. Responsibility for compliance with this subsection 48
199-rests solely with the manufacturer, and not the retailer of the manufactured-protein food product." 49
200-SECTION 2.(c) This section becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to 50
201-products sold or offered for sale on or after that date. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
202-House Bill 471-Third Edition Page 5
125+(4a) "Cell-cultured food product" means a food product having one or more 25
126+sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from poultry but 26
127+that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from 27
128+manufacturing cells, in which one or more stem cells are initially isolated from 28
129+poultry, are grown in vitro, and may be manipulated, as part of a 29
130+manufacturing operation. 30
131+(4b) "Close proximity" means any of the following: 31
132+a. Immediately before or after the name of the product. 32
133+b. In the line of the label immediately before or after the line containing 33
134+the name of the product. 34
135+c. Within the same phrase or sentence containing the name of the 35
136+product. 36
137+… 37
138+(10a) "Identifying poultry term" means any word or phrase that states, indicates, 38
139+suggests, or describes a poultry product, regardless of whether the word or 39
140+phrase is used individually, as a portmanteau, or as a compound word. This 40
141+term includes all of the following: 41
142+a. A common name for the species of the poultry subject to slaughter and 42
143+processing, including chicken, poultry, or turkey. 43
144+b. A common name for a characteristic of a species of the poultry subject 44
145+to slaughter and processing based on age, breed, or sex. 45
146+c. Meat, broiler, fryer, poulet, or yearling. 46
147+d. A common name used to describe a major cut of poultry slaughtered 47
148+and processed, including a poultry product such as breast, drumstick, 48
149+giblet, thigh, or wing; or the common name of an organ or offal, 49
150+including gizzard, heart, liver, kidney, or tongue. 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
151+Page 4 House Bill 471-Second Edition
152+e. Any other common name that a reasonable purchaser would 1
153+immediately and exclusively associate with a poultry product prepared 2
154+for sale in normal commercial channels. 3
155+… 4
156+(11a) "Insect-protein food product" means a food product having one or more 5
157+sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from poultry but 6
158+that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is manufactured from 7
159+insect parts. 8
160+… 9
161+(16a) "Manufactured-protein food product" means a cell-cultured food product, or 10
162+insect-protein food product. 11
163+(17) "Misbranded" shall apply to any poultry product under one or more of the 12
164+following circumstances: 13
165+a. If its labeling is false or misleading in any particular; 14
166+b. If it is offered for sale under the name of another food; 15
167+c. If it is an imitation of another food, unless its label bears, in type of 16
168+uniform size and prominence, the word "imitation" and immediately 17
169+thereafter, the name of the food imitated; 18
170+… 19
171+m. If it is a manufactured-protein food product and it is not labeled in 20
172+accordance with G.S. 106-549.55(e). 21
173+… 22
174+(26) "Poultry product" means any poultry carcass, or part thereof; or any product 23
175+which is made wholly or in part from any poultry carcass or part thereof, or 24
176+any cell-cultured food product made from cells of poultry, excepting products 25
177+which contain poultry ingredients only in a relatively small proportion or 26
178+historically have not been considered by consumers as products of the poultry 27
179+food industry, and which are exempted by the Board from definition as a 28
180+poultry product under such conditions as the Board may prescribe to assure 29
181+that the poultry ingredients in such products are not adulterated and that such 30
182+products are not represented as poultry products. 31
183+… 32
184+(28a) "Qualifying term" means a word compound word, or phrase that would clearly 33
185+disclose to a reasonable purchaser of poultry products that a food product is 34
186+not a poultry product. This includes the following terms: "cell-cultured," 35
187+"cultivated," "cell-cultivated," "fake," "grown in a lab," "insect," 36
188+"insect-based," "insect-protein," "lab-created," or "lab-grown." 37
189+…." 38
190+SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 106-549.55 reads as rewritten: 39
191+"§ 106-549.55. Labeling standards; false and misleading labels.labels; labeling of 40
192+manufactured-protein food products. 41
193+… 42
194+(e) The manufacturer of a manufactured-protein food product must ensure that the label 43
195+of any manufactured-protein food product offered for sale in this State that contains an 44
196+identifying poultry term shall also contain an appropriate qualifying term in prominent type and 45
197+in close proximity to the name of the product. Responsibility for compliance with this subsection 46
198+rests solely with the manufacturer, and not the retailer of the manufactured-protein food product." 47
199+SECTION 2.(c) This section becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to 48
200+products sold or offered for sale on or after that date. 49
201+ 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
202+House Bill 471-Second Edition Page 5
203+REQUIRE ACCURATE RESTAURANT -MENU LABELING FOR 1
204+MANUFACTURED -PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS 2
205+SECTION 3.(a) G.S. 130A-248 reads as rewritten: 3
206+"§ 130A-248. Regulation of food and lodging establishments. 4
207+(a) For the protection of the public health, the Commission shall adopt rules governing 5
208+the sanitation of establishments that prepare or serve drink or food for pay and establishments 6
209+that prepare and sell meat food products or poultry products. However, any establishment that 7
210+prepares or serves food or drink to the public, regardless of pay, shall be subject to the provisions 8
211+of this Article if the establishment that prepares or serves food or drink holds an ABC permit, as 9
212+defined in G.S. 18B-101, meets any of the definitions in G.S. 18B-1000, and does not meet the 10
213+definition set forth in G.S. 130A-247 for a brewery, distillery, bar, private club, or winery. 11
214+… 12
215+(c4) Every establishment that prepares or serves food, as defined in G.S. 130A-247(7), 13
216+that offers for sale or consumption of a food item containing or consisting of a 14
217+manufactured-protein food product shall clearly and conspicuously disclose that fact on its menu 15
218+in accordance with all of the following: 16
219+(1) For purposes of this subsection, the following definitions apply: 17
220+a. "Manufactured-protein food product" means a cell-cultured food 18
221+product, or an insect-protein food product. This term includes: 19
222+1. A "cell-cultured food product" as defined in 20
223+G.S. 106-549.15(5a) for products originating from agricultural 21
224+food animals and in G.S. 106-549.51(4a) for products 22
225+originating from poultry. 23
226+2. An "insect-protein food product" as defined in 24
227+G.S. 106-549.15(9b) for products resembling the meat of an 25
228+agricultural food animal and in G.S. 106-549.51(11a) for 26
229+products resembling poultry. 27
230+b. "Qualifying term" means a term as defined in G.S. 106-549.15(21a) 28
231+for products marketed as a substitute or imitation of the meat of an 29
232+agricultural food animal or G.S. 106-549.51(28a) for products 30
233+marketed as a substitute or imitation of poultry. 31
234+(2) The menu listing for any item containing or consisting of a 32
235+manufactured-protein food product shall include a parenthetical or bracketed 33
236+statement immediately following the item's name. This statement shall: 34
237+a. Be in a font size no smaller than the menu item name. 35
238+b. Clearly indicate that the item is derived from artificial, imitation, or 36
239+cell-cultured components by using language such as "(Contains 37
240+Artificial/Cell-Cultured Food Product)," "(Imitation)," or 38
241+"(Lab-Grown)," or another qualifying term appropriate to the listed 39
242+menu item that would clearly convey to a reasonable consumer that 40
243+the product is not derived from traditional meat or poultry. 41
244+(3) The Department and local health departments shall enforce the menu 42
245+disclosure requirements of this subsection as part of their food establishment 43
246+inspection and permitting duties under this Article. Compliance with the menu 44
247+disclosure requirements under this subsection shall be a condition of receiving 45
248+or renewing a permit pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. 46
249+(4) The Commission shall adopt rules to implement the menu disclosure 47
250+requirements provided by this subsection. 48
251+…." 49
252+SECTION 3.(b) This section becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to food 50
253+items sold, offered for sale, or made available for consumption on or after that date. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
254+Page 6 House Bill 471-Second Edition
203255 1
204-REQUIRE ACCURATE RESTAURANT -MENU LABELING FOR 2
205-MANUFACTURED -PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS 3
206-SECTION 3.(a) G.S. 130A-248 reads as rewritten: 4
207-"§ 130A-248. Regulation of food and lodging establishments. 5
208-(a) For the protection of the public health, the Commission shall adopt rules governing 6
209-the sanitation of establishments that prepare or serve drink or food for pay and establishments 7
210-that prepare and sell meat food products or poultry products. However, any establishment that 8
211-prepares or serves food or drink to the public, regardless of pay, shall be subject to the provisions 9
212-of this Article if the establishment that prepares or serves food or drink holds an ABC permit, as 10
213-defined in G.S. 18B-101, meets any of the definitions in G.S. 18B-1000, and does not meet the 11
214-definition set forth in G.S. 130A-247 for a brewery, distillery, bar, private club, or winery. 12
215-… 13
216-(c4) Every establishment that prepares or serves food, as defined in G.S. 130A-247(7), 14
217-that offers for sale or consumption of a food item containing or consisting of a 15
218-manufactured-protein food product shall clearly and conspicuously disclose that fact on its menu 16
219-in accordance with all of the following: 17
220-(1) For purposes of this subsection, the following definitions apply: 18
221-a. "Manufactured-protein food product" means a cell-cultured food 19
222-product, or an insect-protein food product. This term includes: 20
223-1. A "cell-cultured food product" as defined in 21
224-G.S. 106-549.15(5a) for products originating from agricultural 22
225-food animals and in G.S. 106-549.51(4a) for products 23
226-originating from poultry. 24
227-2. An "insect-protein food product" as defined in 25
228-G.S. 106-549.15(9b) for products resembling the meat of an 26
229-agricultural food animal and in G.S. 106-549.51(11a) for 27
230-products resembling poultry. 28
231-b. "Qualifying term" means a term as defined in G.S. 106-549.15(21a) 29
232-for products marketed as a substitute or imitation of the meat of an 30
233-agricultural food animal or G.S. 106-549.51(28a) for products 31
234-marketed as a substitute or imitation of poultry. 32
235-(2) The menu listing for any item containing or consisting of a 33
236-manufactured-protein food product shall include a parenthetical or bracketed 34
237-statement immediately following the item's name. This statement shall: 35
238-a. Be in a font size no smaller than the menu item name. 36
239-b. Clearly indicate that the item is derived from artificial, imitation, or 37
240-cell-cultured components by using language such as "(Contains 38
241-Artificial/Cell-Cultured Food Product)," "(Imitation)," or 39
242-"(Lab-Grown)," or another qualifying term appropriate to the listed 40
243-menu item that would clearly convey to a reasonable consumer that 41
244-the product is not derived from traditional meat or poultry. 42
245-(3) The Department and local health departments shall enforce the menu 43
246-disclosure requirements of this subsection as part of their food establishment 44
247-inspection and permitting duties under this Article. Compliance with the menu 45
248-disclosure requirements under this subsection shall be a condition of receiving 46
249-or renewing a permit pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. 47
250-(4) The Commission shall adopt rules to implement the menu disclosure 48
251-requirements provided by this subsection. 49
252-…." 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
253-Page 6 House Bill 471-Third Edition
254-SECTION 3.(b) This section becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to food 1
255-items sold, offered for sale, or made available for consumption on or after that date. 2
256- 3
257-SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND EFFECTIVE DATE 4
258-SECTION 4.(a) If any section or provision of this act is declared unconstitutional or 5
259-invalid by the courts, it does not affect the validity of this act as a whole or any part other than 6
260-the part declared to be unconstitutional or invalid. 7
261-SECTION 4.(b) Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes 8
262-law. 9
256+SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND EFFECTIVE DATE 2
257+SECTION 4.(a) If any section or provision of this act is declared unconstitutional or 3
258+invalid by the courts, it does not affect the validity of this act as a whole or any part other than 4
259+the part declared to be unconstitutional or invalid. 5
260+SECTION 4.(b) Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective 30 days after it 6
261+becomes law. 7