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

S4499

SENATE, No. 4499

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED JUNE 22, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� RAJ MUKHERJI

District 32 (Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

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

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

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.�

����� �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).

����� �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.

����� �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).

���� �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.�� a.�
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.

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

���� 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.

STATEMENT

����� This bill establishes labeling standards for packaged
cell-cultivated food products and requires consumer notification by food
service businesses when offering cell-cultivated food.

����� Under the bill, �cell-cultivated food� is defined as
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.

����� The bill requires that packaged cell-cultivated food
have a label on the front of the packaging indicating that the product is or
contains cell-cultivated food and that the information is displayed
conspicuously and understandably.� The bill provides specifications regarding
the size and placement of the label.� The bill also requires food service
businesses to indicate if a product offered contains cell-cultivated food.�
Under the bill, a �food service business� is a business that sells or provides
pre-cooked or prepared food for immediate consumption, such as restaurants,
cafes, delicatessens, coffee shops, convenience stores, grocery stores, vending
trucks or carts, food trucks, movie theaters, and institutional cafeterias in
businesses or governmental entities.� The bill�s provisions do not apply to
�commercial feed� or �pet food,� as those terms are defined by the New Jersey
Commercial Feed Law of 1970, or products regulated as animal food.

����� Finally, the bill requires the Department of Health
(DOH), in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, to adopt rules and
regulations necessary to implement the bill�s provisions.� These would include
the creation of standards of measurement and qualification for packaged
cell-cultivated food in raw, processed, and prepared foods, and standards for
signage or notification for cell-cultivated food served by food service
businesses.��

���� A violation of the bill�s provisions would render a
packaged or offered item to be deemed misbranded.� Purveyors of misbranded food
items are subject to penalties for violating the State Sanitary Code
(N.J.S.A.26:1A-10), which is enforced by the DOH.� Each violation of the State
Sanitary Code constitutes a separate offense and is punishable by a penalty of
not less than $50 and not more than $1,000 which may be recovered in a civil
action in any court of competent jurisdiction by the State or a municipal board
of health.