Requires label or indication of food that contains animal cell-cultivated product.

A5084 1R

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 5084

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 14, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� SHAMA A. HAIDER

District 37 (Bergen)

Assemblyman� CLINTON CALABRESE

District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires label or indication of food that contains
animal cell-cultivated product.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As reported by the Assembly Consumer Affairs
Committee on June 4, 2026, with amendments.

��

An Act
concerning animal cell-cultivated food products and
supplementing Title 24 of the Revised Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

����� 1.�� As
used in this act:

����� �Cell-cultivated
food� means any cultured animal tissue produced from in vitro animal cell
cultures outside of the organism from which it is derived to produce food or
ingredients for food.�

�����
1
�Commercial feed� means the same as that term is
defined in subsection d. of section 3 of P.L.1970, c.338 (C.4:4-20.3).
1

����� �Food
service business� means a business that sells or provides precooked meals or
prepared food for immediate consumption on or off the premises and includes,
but is not limited to, a restaurant, caf�, delicatessen, coffee shop,
convenience store, grocery store, vending truck or cart, food truck, movie
theater, or business or an institutional cafeteria, including those operated by
or on behalf of a governmental entity.

����� �Label�
means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter that appears on the
principal display panel of a food�s wrapper, container, or package, or that
otherwise accompanies a food at the time of its distribution or sale.

�����
1
�Pet food� means the same as that term is defined in
subsection t. of section 3 of P.L.1970, c.338 (C.4:4-20.3).
1

���� �Principal
display panel� means the side of the food�s wrapper, container, or package that
is most likely to be displayed, presented, or shown under customary conditions
of display for retail sale; provided, however, for a cylindrical or nearly
cylindrical package, the surface area of the principal display panel shall
constitute at least 40 percent of the product package as measured by
multiplying the height of the container by the circumference.

���� 2.��� a.� Every packaged cell�cultivated
food product that is offered for sale in this State shall have a label on the product�s
principal display panel indicating that the product is or contains cell-cultivated
food.� The label shall be easily understandable to the average consumer and also
shall:

���� (1)�� be clear and conspicuous
and have sufficiently high contrast with the immediate background of the
wrapper, container, or package to render the label reasonably likely to be seen
and read by the average consumer under customary conditions of purchase and use;

���� (2)�� be sized equal to at
least two percent of the surface area of the principal display panel and shall
not be obscured by any seams, folds, or other design elements of the wrapper,
container, or package;

���� (3)�� be, for a
cell-cultivated food product sold in bulk at retail, visible on both the outer
package and the individual packages contained within unless the individual
packages contained within the outer package are not intended for individual
sale and contain no retail labeling; and

���� (4)�� not be deceptively
similar to any food product that does not contain cell-cultivated food.� A
deceptively similar label means a label that could mislead a reasonable person
to believe the product for sale is one the cell-cultivated food is intended to
mimic or replicate that does not contain cell-cultivated food.

���� b.��� A packaged cell-cultivated
food product that is not labeled in accordance with this section shall be deemed
misbranded in violation of the provisions of chapter 5 of Title 24 of the
Revised Statutes.�

���� c.���� The provisions of this
section shall not apply to a cell-cultivated food product that is sold, offered
for sale, or distributed by a retailer or wholesaler that does not package or
label the cell-cultivated food product.

���� d.��� The Commissioner of
Health, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall adopt rules
and regulations pursuant to the �Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as are necessary to implement the provisions of this
section.� These rules and regulations shall include, but shall not be limited
to, standards of measurement and procedures for the qualification of cell-cultivated
food in raw foods, such as meats, fish, seafood, poultry, eggs, and dairy
products; processed foods, such as freeze-dried, canned, or frozen foods; and
prepared foods, such as pre-cooked meals.�

���� 3.��� a.� Every food service
business operating in this State shall indicate if a product offered is or
contains cell-cultivated food.

���� b.��� A product offered in
violation of this section shall be deemed misbranded pursuant to R.S.24:5-17.

���� c.���� The Commissioner of
Health, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall adopt rules
and regulations pursuant to the �Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as are necessary to implement the provisions of this
section.� These rules and regulations shall include standards for indication of
cell-cultivated food on menus or displays, and verbal notification for circumstances
when signage is not efficacious.

����� 4.

1

a.
1
� Nothing in this act shall be construed to restrict or prohibit
compliance with applicable federal law pertaining to the inspection, packaging,
or labeling of food.

����
1
b.�� The provisions of this act shall not apply to
commercial feed, pet food, or a product regulated as animal food.
1

���� 5.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the 19
th
month next following enactment,
except that the Commissioner of Health and the Secretary of Agriculture may
take anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for
the implementation of this act.