cell-cultured protein; sale; prohibition

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included speculative elements about enforcement and penalties that are not detailed in the bill's summary or text.

Ban on Selling Lab-Grown Meat

This bill bans the sale of lab-grown meat products for human consumption in Arizona.

What This Bill Does

• Prohibits a person from offering for sale or selling cell-cultured protein for human consumption in this state.
• Makes it a class 5 felony if someone violates this prohibition.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who want to buy or sell lab-grown meat products
• Businesses that produce and sell cell-cultured proteins

Terms To Know

cell-cultured protein

A food product derived from harvesting animal cells and artificially replicating those cells in a growth medium to produce tissue.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not provide reasons for the ban on lab-grown meat.
• It is unclear how this prohibition will be enforced or what specific penalties apply beyond classifying violations as a felony.
• There are no details provided about exceptions or exemptions to the ban.

Official Summary Text

HB2791 - 572R - House Bill Summary

ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

57th
Legislature, 2nd Regular Session

Majority Research Staff

House:
LARA DP 5-3-0-0

HB
2791
: cell-cultured protein; sale; prohibition

Sponsor:
Representative Diaz, LD 19

Caucus
& COW

Overview

Prohibits
the sale of cell-cultured protein for human consumption.

History

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) describes human
food made with cultured animal cells as food produced by taking
a small
number of cells from living animals and grow(ing) them in a controlled
environment.

In 2019, the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food
Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) established a formal agreement on how the
agencies would use regulatory tools to
help ensure that foods comprising or
containing cultured animal cells entering the U.S. market are safe and properly
labeled.

FSIS lists a four-step process for the cultivation of animal
cells for use in human food:

1)

scientists
start with a sample of cells from the tissue of an animal or fish and some of
the cells are selected, screened and grown to make a
bank
of cells for
later use;

2)

to
make food, a small number of cells are taken from the bank and placed in a
controlled environment that supports growth and cellular multiplication by
supplying appropriate nutrients and other factors;

3)

after
the cells have multiplied by the billions or trillions, additional growth
factors and surfaces for cellular attachment are introduced to the controlled
environment to enable the cells to differentiate into separate cell types and
assume characteristics of muscle, fat or connective tissue cells; and

4)

once
cells have differentiated into the desired type, the cellular material can be
harvested from the controlled environment and prepared using conventional food
processing and packaging methods (
FSIS, Cultured
Animal Cells
). ���

Provisions

1.

Prohibits a
person to offer for sale or sell cell-cultured protein for human consumption.
(Sec. 1)

2.

Asserts that
a person who violates the prohibition is guilty of a class 5 felony. (Sec. 1)

3.

Defines
cell-cultured
protein
. (Sec. 1)

4.

5.

6.

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FOOTER ---------

7.

Initials CW��������������������� HB
2791

8.

1/26/2026� Page 0 Caucus
& COW

9.

10.

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FOOTER ---------

Current Bill Text

HB2791 - 572R - H Ver

House Engrossed

cell-cultured
protein; sale; prohibition

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HOUSE BILL 2791

AN
ACT

Amending title 36, chapter 8, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 36-917; relating to pure food
control.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 36, chapter 8, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 36-917, to read:

START_STATUTE
36-917.

Cell-cultured protein; prohibition; violation;
classification; definition

A. A person may not offer for sale or
sell cell-cultured protein for human consumption in this state.

B. A person who violates this section
is guilty of a class 5 felony.

C. For the purposes of this section,
"cell-cultured protein" means a food product derived from
harvesting animal cells and artificially replicating those cells in a growth
medium to produce tissue.
END_STATUTE