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To: Agriculture;
Appropriations
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Senator(s) Whaley, Berry, Younger
SENATE BILL NO. 2638
(As Passed the Senate)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 75-36-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
ADD A DEFINITION FOR CELL-CULTURED DAIRY PRODUCT; TO AMEND SECTION 2
75-36-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THE DEPARTMENT'S 3
AUTHORITY TO INSPECT INVENTORY OF FOOD PROCESSING PLANTS, RETAIL 4
OR FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS BASED ON A CREDIBLE COMPLAINT OF MISBRANDED 5
MEAT PRODUCTS; TO AMEND SECTION 75-36-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 6
TO EXPAND THE CATEGORIES OF WHERE A MISBRANDED FOOD PRODUCT CAN BE 7
FOUND; TO AMEND SECTION 75-36-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 8
REQUIRE THAT UPON NOTICE FROM THE DEPARTMENT, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 9
SHALL ENFORCE STOP ORDERS OR EMBARGO ORDERS BY PETITIONING THE 10
COURT; TO AMEND SECTION 75-36-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 11
CLARIFY THE PENALTIES FOR MANUFACTURING, SELLING OR OFFERING TO 12
SELL MISBRANDED FOOD PRODUCTS AS MEAT OR CELL-CULTURED DAIRY 13
PRODUCTS; TO REPEAL SECTION 75-36-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 14
WHICH ALLOWS THE DEPARTMENT TO SUSPEND OR REVOKE THE LICENSES OF 15
FOOD PROCESSING PLANTS AND ESTABLISHMENTS THAT ARE FOUND OFFERING 16
TO SELL OR SELLING A FOOD PRODUCT THAT IS MISBRANDED AS A MEAT 17
PRODUCT; TO AMEND SECTION 75-36-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 18
CORRECT A SCRIVENERS ERROR; TO AMEND SECTION 75-36-15, MISSISSIPPI 19
CODE OF 1972, TO SPECIFY THAT NO PROVISION OF THIS SECTION SHALL 20
LEGALIZE THE MANUFACTURE OR SALE OF PRODUCTS SPECIFICALLY MADE 21
ILLEGAL BY OTHER STATUTORY PROVISIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 22
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 23
SECTION 1. Section 75-36-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 24
amended as follows: 25
75-36-1. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall 26
have the meanings ascribed in this section, unless the context 27
otherwise requires: 28
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(a) "Agricultural food animal" means a domesticated 29
animal belonging to the bovine, caprine, ovine, or porcine 30
species; or live domestic fowl limited to chickens or turkeys. 31
(b) "Cell-cultured dairy product" means a product that 32
is intended to replicate or to substitute for milk and that is 33
derived from animal cells cultured outside of a live animal. This 34
includes products produced through the growth of mammary or other 35
animal cells in vitro. 36
( * * *c) "Cultivated-protein food product" means a 37
food product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a 38
type of tissue originating from an agricultural food animal but 39
that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived 40
from manufacturing cells, in which one or more stem cells are 41
initially isolated from an agricultural food animal, are grown in 42
vitro, and may be manipulated, as part of a manufacturing 43
operation. 44
( * * *d) "Department" means the Mississippi Department 45
of Agriculture and Commerce. 46
( * * *e) "Food processing plant" means a commercial 47
operation that manufactures, packages, labels or stores food for 48
human consumption and does not provide food directly to a 49
consumer. The term does not include any of the following: 50
(i) A premises covered by the legalized sale of 51
beer, light spirit products and light wines under the provisions 52
of Chapter 3, Title 67, Mississippi Code of 1972; 53
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(ii) A premises of a residence in which honey is 54
stored, prepared, packaged, including by placement in a container, 55
labeled or from which honey is distributed, as regulated under the 56
provisions of Chapter 29, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972; 57
(iii) The premises of a raw milk dairy where raw 58
milk is produced, processed, labeled, marketed, or distributed by 59
a raw milk producer in compliance with Chapter 31, Title 75, 60
Mississippi Code of 1972; or 61
(iv) The premises of a raw milk dairy where a raw 62
milk product or raw milk dairy product is manufactured, labeled, 63
marketed or distributed by a raw milk producer in compliance with 64
Chapter 31, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972. 65
( * * *f) "Food product" means a perishable or 66
nonperishable item stored in a container or package, if the item 67
is fit for human consumption. 68
( * * *g) "Identifying meat term" means any word or 69
phrase that states, indicates, suggests, or describes a meat 70
product, regardless of whether the word or phrase is used 71
individually, as a portmanteau, or as a compound word. 72
"Identifying meat term" includes, but is not limited to, any of 73
the following: 74
(i) A common name for the species of the 75
agricultural food animal subject to slaughter and processing, 76
including a calf or cow, chicken, goat or kid, hog or pig, 77
poultry, lamb or sheep or turkey. 78
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(ii) A common name for a characteristic of a 79
species of the agricultural food animal subject to slaughter and 80
processing based on age, breed or sex. 81
(iii) Meat, including: 82
1. Beef or veal; 83
2. Broiler, fryer, poulet or yearling; 84
3. Cabrito or chevon; 85
4. Lamb or mutton; 86
5. Pork; 87
6. A common name used to describe a major cut 88
of a meat of an agricultural food animal slaughtered and 89
processed, including: 90
a. A major meat cut specified in 9 CFR 91
Section 317.344; 92
b. A poultry product such as breast, 93
drumstick, giblet, thigh or wing; or 94
c. The common name of an organ or offal, 95
including gizzard, heart, liver, kidney or tongue; and 96
7. Any other common name that a reasonable 97
purchaser would immediately and exclusively associate with a meat 98
product prepared for sale in normal commercial channels such as 99
bacon, baloney, bologna, bone, brat or bratwurst, brisket, burger 100
or hamburger, butt, chop, chuck, cold cut, cutlet, filet, flat 101
iron, frank or frankfurter, ham, hock, hot dog, jerky, liverwurst, 102
loin, London broil, lunch meat, New York strip, pepperoni, 103
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porterhouse, ribeye, roast, rib or sparerib, salami, sausage, 104
shank, sirloin, tenderloin, or a comparable word or phrase as 105
approved by the department. 106
( * * *h) "Insect-protein food product" means a food 107
product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type 108
of tissue originating from an agricultural food animal but that, 109
in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from 110
manufacturing insect parts. 111
( * * *i) "Label" means a display of written, printed 112
or graphic matter placed upon any container storing a food product 113
that is offered for sale or sold on a wholesale or retail basis, 114
regardless of whether the label is printed on the container's 115
packaging or a sticker affixed to the container. 116
( * * *j) "Manufactured-protein food product" means a 117
cultivated-protein food product, insect-protein food product or 118
plant-protein food product. 119
( * * *k) "Meat processing" means the handling, 120
preparation, and slaughter of an agricultural food animal; the 121
dressing of its carcass; or the cutting, storage, and packaging of 122
its tissue or other parts as a food product. 123
( * * *l) "Meat product" means a food product derived 124
from meat processing. 125
( * * *m) "Plant-protein food product" means a food 126
product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type 127
of tissue found in a species of agricultural food animal but that, 128
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in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from 129
manufacturing plant parts. 130
( * * *n) "Qualifying term" means a word, compound word 131
or phrase that would clearly disclose to a reasonable purchaser of 132
meat products from a food processing plant that a food product is 133
not a meat product. "Qualifying term" includes, but is not 134
limited to, cell-cultivated, cell-cultured, fake, grown in a lab, 135
imitation, insect, insect-based, insect-protein, lab-created, 136
lab-grown, meat free, meatless, plant, plant-based, vegan, 137
vegetable, vegetarian, veggie, or a comparable word or phrase as 138
approved by the department. 139
* * * 140
SECTION 2. Section 75-36-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 141
amended as follows: 142
75-36-3. * * * ( * * *1) The department shall inspect an 143
inventory of food products offered for sale or sold at a food 144
processing plant, retail or food establishment based on a credible 145
complaint that the food products are misbranded as meat products 146
as provided in Section 75-36-5. 147
( * * *2) The department shall have the same powers to 148
inspect a food processing plant under this chapter as it does 149
under Chapters 33 and 35, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972. 150
SECTION 3. Section 75-36-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 151
amended as follows: 152
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75-36-5. (1) A food product is misbranded as a meat product 153
if all of the following apply: 154
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), the food 155
product is a manufactured-protein food product or the food product 156
contains a manufactured-protein food product; 157
(b) The food product is not misbranded as a meat 158
product only because it contains a trace amount of one or more 159
plant-protein food products as determined by the department; 160
(c) The food product is offered for sale * * * in 161
Mississippi; and 162
(d) A label that is part of or placed on the package or 163
other container storing the food product includes an identifying 164
meat term * * *. 165
( * * *2) * * * Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this 166
section, a food product is not misbranded if the label contains a 167
conspicuous and prominent qualifying term in close proximity to an 168
identifying meat term. 169
( * * *3) A food processing plant, retail or food 170
establishment shall not offer for sale or sell a food product that 171
is misbranded as a meat product as provided in this section. 172
SECTION 4. Section 75-36-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 173
amended as follows: 174
75-36-7. (1) If the department has reasonable cause to 175
believe that a food processing plant, retail or food establishment 176
is offering for sale or selling a food product that is misbranded 177
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as a meat product in violation of Section 75-36-5, the department 178
shall issue a stop order. Upon being issued the stop order, the 179
food processing plant, retail or food establishment shall not 180
offer for sale or sell the food product until the department 181
determines that the food product is or is not misbranded as a meat 182
product. 183
(2) The department may require that the food product be held 184
by the food processing plant, retail or food establishment and be 185
secured from purchase. 186
(3) If the department determines that the food product being 187
offered for sale or sold by a food processing plant, retail or 188
food establishment is misbranded as a meat product, the * * * 189
department may issue an embargo order requiring the food 190
processing plant, retail or food establishment to dispose of the 191
misbranded meat product other than by sale to purchasers in this 192
state. 193
(4) * * * Upon notification of the violation by the 194
department, the Attorney General shall enforce the stop order or 195
embargo order by petitioning the chancery court of * * * the 196
county where the violation occurred. If the Attorney General 197
declines the representation, the department may, in its 198
discretion, hire outside counsel to pursue the matter. Fees 199
incurred by the department shall be reimbursable to the department 200
by deficit appropriation. 201
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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) Any entity violating subsection (1) or (2) of 210
this section, is subject to a civil penalty of not more than Five 211
Hundred Dollars ($500.00) * * * per day for all violations. Each 212
day shall constitute a continuing violation subject to an 213
additional Five Hundred Dollar ($500.00) per day penalty. The 214
total penalties for violations arising out of the same transaction 215
or occurrence shall not exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00). 216
Civil penalties collected under this subsection shall be deposited 217
in the State General Fund in the State Treasury for the benefit of 218
the department and shall be used to defray the expenses incurred 219
by the department for this chapter. 220
( * * *4) * * * Any entity having been found to be in 221
violation may contest the civil penalty imposed by the department 222
through judicial review. 223
( * * *5) An appeal from the decision of the department to 224
impose a civil penalty shall be made by filing a written notice of 225
appeal with the circuit court clerk of the county where the 226
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accused resides, or in the case of a nonresident accused, in the 227
Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County. The 228
notice of appeal and the payment of costs must be filed and paid 229
with the circuit clerk, within thirty (30) days of the entry of 230
the order being appealed. The appeal shall be on the record, and 231
otherwise be conducted in accordance with existing laws and rules. 232
( * * *6) Any party aggrieved by the action of the circuit 233
court may appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court in the manner 234
provided by law and rules. 235
SECTION 6. Section 75-36-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, which 236
allows the department to suspend or revoke the licenses of food 237
processing plants and establishments that are found offering to 238
sale or selling a food product that is misbranded as a meat 239
product, is hereby repealed. 240
SECTION 7. Section 75-36-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 241
amended as follows: 242
75-36-13. * * * The executive administrative officers of 243
state institutions of higher learning under the authority of the 244
Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, the 245
respective boards of trustees of public community and junior 246
colleges and local school boards, shall establish policies to 247
prevent the purchase of food products that are misbranded as a 248
meat product as prohibited in this chapter, or is a 249
cultivated-protein food product as defined in this chapter. 250
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SECTION 8. Section 75-36-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 251
amended as follows: 252
75-36-15. (1) All retail and food service establishments of 253
food products, meats, meat-food products, cultivated-protein food 254
products, manufactured-protein food products, insect-protein food 255
products and plant-protein food products shall inform consumers, 256
at the final point of sale, of the products' authenticity as a 257
meat or nonmeat product with appropriate labeling indicating such. 258
Notwithstanding the above reference to regulating, labeling and 259
recordkeeping for cultivated-protein food products, nothing 260
contained herein is meant to legalize or authorize the 261
manufacturing or sale of such products, which are specifically 262
made illegal by Section 75-35-15(4). 263
(2) The methods of notification required under subsection 264
(1) shall be accomplished as follows: 265
(a) Retailers shall provide information to consumers by 266
means of a label, stamp, mark, placard or other clear and visible 267
sign on the meat or nonmeat product or on the package, display, 268
holding unit or bin containing the meat or nonmeat at the final 269
point of sale to consumers. If the product is already 270
individually labeled for retail sale regarding its authenticity as 271
a meat or nonmeat product, the retailer shall not be required to 272
provide any additional information to comply with this section. 273
(b) Food service establishments shall provide 274
information to the consumer by indications on the menu of the food 275
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service establishment. For inauthentic meat items derived from 276
cultivated-protein food products, manufactured-protein food 277
products, insect-protein food products and plant-protein food 278
products, the information shall be adjacent to the item on the 279
menu and printed in the same font style and size as the item. If 280
the food service establishment offers for sale only authentic meat 281
and meat-food products as defined in Section * * * 75-33-3, then 282
the food service establishment may generally disclose this in a 283
prominent location in the food service establishment in lieu of 284
disclosure on the menu. The signage disclosing the sale of only 285
authentic meat and meat-food products, that is to be placed in a 286
prominent location in the food service establishment, shall be 287
approved by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and 288
Commerce, which shall be held harmless in a cause of action for a 289
retail or food service establishment's failure to disclose or 290
fraudulent disclosure. Any liability arising from failure to 291
disclose authenticity shall remain with the processor, 292
distributor, wholesaler and the retail or food service 293
establishment. 294
(3) The commissioner may require that any person that 295
prepares, stores, handles or distributes food products, meats, 296
meat-food products, cultivated-protein food products, 297
manufactured-protein food products, insect-protein food products 298
and plant-protein food products for retail sale maintains a 299
verifiable record-keeping audit trail that permits the 300
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ST: Meat labeling; clarify laws concerning.
commissioner to verify compliance with this chapter and any 301
regulations promulgated hereunder. 302
(4) Any distributor or wholesaler engaged in the business of 303
supplying * * * cultivated-protein food products, 304
manufactured-protein food products, insect-protein food products 305
and plant-protein food products to a retailer or food service 306
establishment shall provide information to the retailer or food 307
service establishment indicating the authenticity of product as a 308
meat or nonmeat. * * * 309
SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from 310
and after July 1, 2026, and shall stand repealed on June 30, 2026. 311