Senate Bill 148 amends various sections of the Tennessee Code Annotated to define and regulate cell-cultured food products. The bill introduces a new definition for "cell-cultured food product," which refers to food produced without slaughter by growing cells from certain species in a controlled environment. It also updates the definitions of "meat" and "poultry" to explicitly exclude cell-cultured food products. Additionally, the bill establishes a prohibition against local education agencies (LEAs) and public charter schools from offering or distributing cell-cultured food products in their school nutrition programs.

Furthermore, the bill allows parents or students affected by violations of this prohibition to bring civil actions against the respective LEAs or public institutions of higher education, with provisions for compensatory damages and attorney fees for prevailing parties. The new regulations will remain in effect until July 1, 2035, and the act is set to take effect on July 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 53-7-202