The proposed bill, SB1649, aims to regulate the labeling of food products to prevent misrepresentation, specifically targeting products that are not derived from livestock or poultry. It prohibits the intentional misbranding or misrepresentation of such products as meat, meat food products, poultry, or poultry products. This includes using misleading labels, terms deceptively similar to those historically used for specific meat or poultry products, and representing cell-cultured or synthetic products derived from plants, insects, or other sources as meat or poultry.

The bill also empowers the Department of Health Services to enforce these regulations by adopting rules, investigating violations, employing personnel or delegating authority for enforcement, seeking injunctive or other civil relief, and imposing civil penalties of up to $100,000 for each violation. Each day a violation occurs is considered a separate offense. Definitions for terms such as "cell-cultured food product," "deceptively similar," and "misrepresent" are provided to clarify the scope of the bill.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 36-917
Senate Engrossed Version: 36-917