Meat and cell-cultivated dairy products; revise the MS Dept. of Ag and Commerce's regulatory authority regarding.

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To: Agriculture
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Pigott

HOUSE BILL NO. 1153
(As Sent to Governor)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 75-36-1, 75-36-3, 75-36-5, 75-36-7, 1
75-36-9, 75-36-11, 75-36-13 AND 75-36-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 2
1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE LABELING OF PRODUCTS AT FOOD 3
PROCESSING PLANTS, RETAILS OR OTHER ESTABLISHMENT, TO CLARIFY AND 4
EXPAND DEFINITIONS RELATING TO MEAT, MANUFACTURED-PROTEIN, 5
CULTIVATED-PROTEIN, INSECT-PROTEIN, PLANT-PROTEIN AND 6
CELL-CULTURED DAIRY PRODUCTS; TO PROHIBIT THE MANUFACTURE, SALE OR 7
OFFER FOR SALE OF CELL-CULTURED DAIRY PRODUCTS IN THIS STATE; TO 8
STRENGTHEN AND CLARIFY MISBRANDING PROHIBITIONS INVOLVING THE USE 9
OF IDENTIFYING MEAT TERMS AND REQUIRED QUALIFYING DISCLOSURES; TO 10
REVISE INSPECTION AUTHORITY, COMPLAINT-BASED ENFORCEMENT 11
PROCEDURES, STOP-SALE AND EMBARGO POWERS AND JUDICIAL ENFORCEMENT 12
MECHANISMS OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND 13
COMMERCE; TO REVISE CIVIL PENALTIES, DEPOSIT AND USE OF FINES AND 14
APPEAL RIGHTS FOR VIOLATIONS; TO REQUIRE STATE AGENCIES, PUBLIC 15
SCHOOLS AND INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING TO ADOPT PROCUREMENT 16
POLICIES PREVENTING THE PURCHASE OF MISBRANDED OR 17
CULTIVATED-PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS; TO REQUIRE CLEAR CONSUMER 18
DISCLOSURE AT THE FINAL POINT OF SALE BY RETAILERS, DISTRIBUTORS, 19
WHOLESALERS AND FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS REGARDING THE 20
AUTHENTICITY OF MEAT AND NONMEAT PRODUCTS; TO AUTHORIZE 21
RECORD-KEEPING AND AUDIT TRAIL REQUIREMENTS TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE; 22
TO MAKE TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS FOR CONSISTENCY, 23
ENFORCEABILITY AND CLARITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 24
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 25
SECTION 1. Section 75-36-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 26
amended as follows: 27
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75-36-1. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall 28
have the meanings ascribed in this section, unless the context 29
otherwise requires: 30
(a) "Agricultural food animal" means a domesticated 31
animal belonging to the bovine, caprine, ovine, or porcine 32
species; or live domestic fowl limited to chickens or turkeys. 33
(b) "Cell-cultured dairy product" means a product that 34
is intended to replicate or to substitute for milk and that is 35
derived from animal cells cultured outside of a live animal. This 36
includes products produced through the growth of mammary or other 37
animal cells in vitro. 38
( * * *c) "Cultivated-protein food product" means a 39
food product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a 40
type of tissue originating from an agricultural food animal but 41
that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived 42
from manufacturing cells, in which one or more stem cells are 43
initially isolated from an agricultural food animal, are grown 44
in vitro, and may be manipulated, as part of a manufacturing 45
operation. 46
( * * *d) "Department" means the Mississippi Department 47
of Agriculture and Commerce. 48
( * * *e) "Food processing plant" means a commercial 49
operation that manufactures, packages, labels or stores food for 50
human consumption and does not provide food directly to a 51
consumer. The term does not include any of the following: 52
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(i) A premises covered by the legalized sale of 53
beer, light spirit products and light wines under the provisions 54
of Chapter 3, Title 67, Mississippi Code of 1972; 55
(ii) A premises of a residence in which honey is 56
stored, prepared, packaged, including by placement in a container, 57
labeled or from which honey is distributed, as regulated under the 58
provisions of Chapter 29, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972; 59
(iii) The premises of a raw milk dairy where raw 60
milk is produced, processed, labeled, marketed, or distributed by 61
a raw milk producer in compliance with Chapter 31, Title 75, 62
Mississippi Code of 1972; or 63
(iv) The premises of a raw milk dairy where a raw 64
milk product or raw milk dairy product is manufactured, labeled, 65
marketed or distributed by a raw milk producer in compliance with 66
Chapter 31, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972. 67
( * * *f) "Food product" means a perishable or 68
nonperishable item stored in a container or package, if the item 69
is fit for human consumption. 70
( * * *g) "Identifying meat term" means any word or 71
phrase that states, indicates, suggests, or describes a meat 72
product, regardless of whether the word or phrase is used 73
individually, as a portmanteau, or as a compound word. 74
"Identifying meat term" includes, but is not limited to, any of 75
the following: 76
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(i) A common name for the species of the 77
agricultural food animal subject to slaughter and processing, 78
including a calf or cow, chicken, goat or kid, hog or pig, 79
poultry, lamb or sheep or turkey. 80
(ii) A common name for a characteristic of a 81
species of the agricultural food animal subject to slaughter and 82
processing based on age, breed or sex. 83
(iii) Meat, including: 84
1. Beef or veal; 85
2. Broiler, fryer, poulet or yearling; 86
3. Cabrito or chevon; 87
4. Lamb or mutton; 88
5. Pork; 89
6. A common name used to describe a major cut 90
of a meat of an agricultural food animal slaughtered and 91
processed, including: 92
a. A major meat cut specified in 9 CFR 93
Section 317.344; 94
b. A poultry product such as breast, 95
drumstick, giblet, thigh or wing; or 96
c. The common name of an organ or offal, 97
including gizzard, heart, liver, kidney or tongue; and 98
7. Any other common name that a reasonable 99
purchaser would immediately and exclusively associate with a meat 100
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product prepared for sale in normal commercial channels such as 101
bacon, baloney, bologna, bone, brat or bratwurst, brisket, burger 102
or hamburger, butt, chop, chuck, cold cut, cutlet, filet, flat 103
iron, frank or frankfurter, ham, hock, hot dog, jerky, liverwurst, 104
loin, London broil, lunch meat, New York strip, pepperoni, 105
porterhouse, ribeye, roast, rib or sparerib, salami, sausage, 106
shank, sirloin, tenderloin, or a comparable word or phrase as 107
approved by the department. 108
( * * *h) "Insect-protein food product" means a food 109
product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type 110
of tissue originating from an agricultural food animal but that, 111
in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from 112
manufacturing insect parts. 113
( * * *i) "Label" means a display of written, printed 114
or graphic matter placed upon any container storing a food product 115
that is offered for sale or sold on a wholesale or retail basis, 116
regardless of whether the label is printed on the container's 117
packaging or a sticker affixed to the container. 118
( * * *j) "Manufactured-protein food product" means a 119
cultivated-protein food product, insect-protein food product or 120
plant-protein food product. 121
( * * *k) "Meat processing" means the handling, 122
preparation, and slaughter of an agricultural food animal; the 123
dressing of its carcass; or the cutting, storage, and packaging of 124
its tissue or other parts as a food product. 125
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( * * *l) "Meat product" means a food product derived 126
from meat processing. 127
( * * *m) "Plant-protein food product" means a food 128
product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type 129
of tissue found in a species of agricultural food animal but that, 130
in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from 131
manufacturing plant parts. 132
( * * *n) "Qualifying term" means a word, compound word 133
or phrase that would clearly disclose to a reasonable purchaser of 134
meat products from a food processing plant that a food product is 135
not a meat product. "Qualifying term" includes, but is not 136
limited to, cell-cultivated, cell-cultured, fake, grown in a lab, 137
imitation, insect, insect-based, insect-protein, lab-created, 138
lab-grown, meat free, meatless, plant, plant-based, vegan, 139
vegetable, vegetarian, veggie, or a comparable word or phrase as 140
approved by the department. 141
* * * 142
SECTION 2. Section 75-36-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 143
amended as follows: 144
75-36-3. * * * 145
( * * *1) The department shall inspect an inventory of 146
food products offered for sale or sold at a food processing 147
plant, retail or food establishment based on a credible complaint 148
that the food products are misbranded as meat products as provided 149
in Section 75-36-5. 150
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( * * *2) The department shall have the same powers to 151
inspect a food processing plant under this chapter as it does 152
under Chapters 33 and 35, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972. 153
SECTION 3. Section 75-36-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 154
amended as follows: 155
75-36-5. (1) A food product is misbranded as a meat product 156
if all of the following apply: 157
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), the food 158
product is a manufactured-protein food product or the food product 159
contains a manufactured-protein food product; 160
(b) The food product is not misbranded as a meat 161
product only because it contains a trace amount of one or more 162
plant-protein food products as determined by the department; 163
(c) The food product is offered for sale * * * in 164
Mississippi; 165
(d) A label that is part of or placed on the package or 166
other container storing the food product includes an identifying 167
meat term; and 168
* * * 169
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, a food 170
product is not misbranded if the label contains a conspicuous and 171
prominent qualifying term in close proximity to an identifying 172
meat term. 173
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( * * *3) A food processing plant, retail or food 174
establishment shall not offer for sale or sell a food product that 175
is misbranded as a meat product as provided in this section. 176
SECTION 4. Section 75-36-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 177
amended as follows: 178
75-36-7. (1) If the department has reasonable cause to 179
believe that a food processing plant, retail or food establishment 180
is offering for sale or selling a food product that is misbranded 181
as a meat product in violation of Section 75-36-5, the department 182
shall issue a stop order. Upon being issued the stop order, the 183
food processing plant, retail or food establishment shall not 184
offer for sale or sell the food product until the department 185
determines that the food product is or is not misbranded as a meat 186
product. 187
(2) The department may require that the food product be held 188
by the food processing plant, retail or food establishment and be 189
secured from purchase. 190
(3) If the department determines that the food product being 191
offered for sale or sold by a food processing plant, retail or 192
food establishment is misbranded as a meat product, the * * * 193
department may issue an embargo order requiring the food 194
processing plant, retail or food establishment to dispose of the 195
misbranded meat product other than by sale to purchasers in this 196
state. 197
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(4) Upon notification of the violation by the 198
department * * *, the Attorney General shall enforce the stop 199
order or embargo order by petitioning the chancery court of * * * 200
the county where the violation occurred. 201
SECTION 5. Section 75-36-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 202
amended as follows: 203
75-36-9. (1) * * * No entity subject to the provisions in 204
this chapter shall * * * misbrand a food product as a meat product 205
as provided in Section 75-36-5 as determined by the department. 206
(2) No person shall manufacture, sell or offer for sale in 207
this state any cell-cultured dairy product as defined in Section 208
75-36-1. 209
( * * *3) A food processing plant, retail or food 210
establishment violating subsections (1) or (2) of this section is 211
subject to a civil penalty of not more than Five Hundred Dollars 212
($500.00), per day for all violations. Each day shall constitute 213
a continuing violation subject to an additional Five Hundred 214
Dollars ($500.00) per day penalty. The total penalties for 215
violations arising out of the same transaction or occurrence shall 216
not * * * exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) * * *. Civil 217
penalties collected under this subsection shall be deposited in 218
the State General Fund. 219
( * * *4) * * * Any entity having been found to be in 220
violation may contest the civil penalty imposed by the department 221
through judicial review. 222
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( * * *5) An appeal from the decision of the department to 223
impose a civil penalty shall be made by filing a written notice of 224
appeal with the circuit court clerk of the county where the 225
accused resides, or in the case of a nonresident accused, in the 226
Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County. The 227
notice of appeal and the payment of costs must be filed and paid 228
with the circuit clerk, within thirty (30) days of the entry of 229
the order being appealed. The appeal shall be on the record and 230
otherwise be conducted in accordance with existing laws and rules. 231
( * * *6) Any party aggrieved by the action of the circuit 232
court may appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court in the manner 233
provided by law and rules. 234
SECTION 6. Section 75-36-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, 235
grants the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce with 236
authority to suspend or revoke licenses issued to a food 237
processing plant, retail or food establishment, is repealed. 238
SECTION 7. Section 75-36-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 239
amended as follows: 240
75-36-13. * * * The executive administrative officers of 241
state institutions of higher learning under the authority of the 242
Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, the 243
respective boards of trustees of public community and junior 244
colleges and local school boards, shall establish policies to 245
prevent the purchase of food products that are misbranded as a 246
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meat product as prohibited in this chapter, or is a 247
cultivated-protein food product as defined in this chapter. 248
SECTION 8. Section 75-36-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 249
amended as follows: 250
75-36-15. (1) All retail and food service establishments of 251
food products, meats, meat-food products, cultivated-protein food 252
products, manufactured-protein food products, insect-protein food 253
products and plant-protein food products shall inform consumers, 254
at the final point of sale, of the products' authenticity as a 255
meat or nonmeat product with appropriate labeling indicating such. 256
Notwithstanding the above reference to regulation, labeling, and 257
recordkeeping for cultivated-protein food products, nothing 258
contained herein is meant to legalize or authorize the manufacture 259
or sale of such products, which are specifically made illegal by 260
Section 75-35-15(4). 261
(2) The methods of notification required under subsection 262
(1) shall be accomplished as follows: 263
(a) Retailers shall provide information to consumers by 264
means of a label, stamp, mark, placard or other clear and visible 265
sign on the meat or nonmeat product or on the package, display, 266
holding unit or bin containing the meat or nonmeat at the final 267
point of sale to consumers. If the product is already 268
individually labeled for retail sale regarding its authenticity as 269
a meat or nonmeat product, the retailer shall not be required to 270
provide any additional information to comply with this section. 271
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(b) Food service establishments shall provide 272
information to the consumer by indications on the menu of the food 273
service establishment. For inauthentic meat items derived from 274
cultivated-protein food products, manufactured-protein food 275
products, insect-protein food products and plant-protein food 276
products, the information shall be adjacent to the item on the 277
menu and printed in the same font style and size as the item. If 278
the food service establishment offers for sale only authentic meat 279
and meat-food products as defined in Section * * * 75-33-3, then 280
the food service establishment may generally disclose this in a 281
prominent location in the food service establishment in lieu of 282
disclosure on the menu. The signage disclosing the sale of only 283
authentic meat and meat-food products, that is to be placed in a 284
prominent location in the food service establishment, shall be 285
approved by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and 286
Commerce, which shall be held harmless in a cause of action for a 287
retail or food service establishment's failure to disclose or 288
fraudulent disclosure. Any liability arising from failure to 289
disclose authenticity shall remain with the processor, 290
distributor, wholesaler and the retail or food service 291
establishment. 292
(3) The commissioner may require that any person that 293
prepares, stores, handles or distributes food products, meats, 294
meat-food products, cultivated-protein food products, 295
manufactured-protein food products, insect-protein food products 296
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ST: Meat and cell-cultivated dairy products;
revise the MS Dept. of Ag and Commerce's
regulatory authority regarding.
and plant-protein food products for retail sale maintains a 297
verifiable record-keeping audit trail that permits the 298
commissioner to verify compliance with this chapter and any 299
regulations promulgated hereunder. 300
(4) Any distributor or wholesaler engaged in the business of 301
supplying * * * cultivated-protein food products, 302
manufactured-protein food products, insect-protein food products 303
and plant-protein food products to a retailer or food service 304
establishment shall provide information to the retailer or food 305
service establishment indicating the authenticity of product as a 306
meat or nonmeat. * * * 307
SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from 308
and after July 1, 2026. 309