WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2025 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
Senate Bill 185
By Senator Chapman
[Introduced February 12, 2025; referred to the Committee on Agriculture]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new section, designated §19-2-14, relating to requiring a label for any lab grown meat being sold to the general public in this state.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
## ARTICLE 2. marketing agricultural products.
(a) Definition. – "Lab-grown meat" is defined as meat developed from animal cell culture, and not via traditional raising and slaughter of living animals, and is further defined as:
(1) A food product intended for use as human food that is produced without slaughter by growing, in a controlled environment, cells harvested from species amenable to federal meat inspection laws, or cells harvested from shellfish species or big game, game birds, or fish, and
(2) Includes food or a food additive produced in the manner described in subsection (1) and used as an ingredient or component in a food.
(b) Enactment. – Any company who sells lab grown meat in this state shall conspicuously display a label on the product to inform the public that the product is "lab grown meat," and shall separately list the complete amount of ingredients within the product.
(c) Penalty. –
(1) If the West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture ("commissioner") believes that a person or company is violating or has violated the provisions of this section, the commissioner shall notify the person or company, in writing, of the violation.
(2) The notice shall include, at a minimum, the information supporting a finding of the violation, a statement that the person or company has 10 days following service of the notice to submit a written request for a hearing or the commissioner's findings become final, and a stop sale order, if the finding becomes final or after a hearing held in accordance with this bill.
(3) If the commissioner finds that a person or company has violated the provisions of this section, then the person or company shall be subject to a fine in an amount set forth by the commissioner, and the commissioner may revoke the person or company's permit for a food establishment if the person or company is found to have violated this section in connection with the food establishment.
(4) In addition to these penalties, any improperly labeled lab grown meat that is imported, sold, or distributed in violation of this section is subject to forfeiture.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require a label informing the public of lab grown meat being sold in this state.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.