Labeling Lab-Grown Meat and Poultry Isn’t Likely To Be Easy

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has a labeling manual that runs about 40 pages. And it seems there are always petitions for labeling changes in the pipeline. The bottom line is labeling can quickly become a complicated subject.

And some try to skirt the whole need for labeling competition.

At issue now is what do do when lab-grown meat and poultry is on the market.

Florida State Rep Tyler Sirois, R-District 51, has introduced a bill to make manufacturing, selling, holding, or distributing lab-grown meat illegal.  It defines lab-grown meat as “any meat or food product produced from cultured animal cells.”

Anyone violating the ban could be fined from $500 to $1,000 as a second-degree misdemeanor. Any restaurant, grocery store, or business found in violation could face an immediate suspension or stop sale order.

Anyone involved with lab-grown meat operations must also obtain authorization from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The department is authorized to adopt rules.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and FSIS jointly regulate lab-grown meat and poultry.   The federal agencies recently gave the green light to the first lab-grown poultry sales in the U.S., but labeling issues are still to be fought out.