ON MARCH 27, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 931, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to prohibit labeling a cell-cultured food product as meat or a meat food product. This amendment defines "cell-cultured food product" to mean 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 the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Federal Poultry Products Inspection Act, or cells harvested from shellfish species or big game, game birds, or fish. Further, this amendment specifies that "cell-cultured food product" includes food or a food additive produced in the manner described in such definition and used as an ingredient or component in a food. This amendment specifies that it does not prohibit a label indicating the species from which the cells for the cell-cultured food product were harvested, that the product was produced from the applicable species or is intended as a substitute for meat or poultry, or another similar description. A cell cultured food product that is labeled in violation of this amendment is misbranded for purposes of the Tennessee Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. This amendment requires the department of agriculture to assess a fine of $2,000 for each product misbranded. This amendment requires the department to promulgate rules to implement and administer a permitting program for sales of cell-cultured food products in Tennessee. Such rules must include, but not be limited to, provisions to establish: (1) A fee in an amount sufficient to defray the cost of implementing and administering the permitting program. This amendment sets the annual permit fee amount at $1,000; (2) A process for the review and approval of permit applications; and (3) Specific criteria for approval of the applications and a timeline for such approval not less than 90 days. The criteria must not exceed the requirements set forth by the federal food and drug administration under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act or the United States department of agriculture under the federal Meat Inspection Act and the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 53-1-204(a)(2)(C), 53-1-204