Misbranding Cultivated Meat Products as Meat

The bill prohibits food processing plants from selling or offering for sale cell-cultivated meat that is misbranded as a meat product. The bill also requires food processing plants to clearly label cell-cultivated meat as cell-cultivated meat.

The department of public health and environment (department) is required to inspect food at a food processing plant if the department has reasonable cause to believe that:

• Cell-cultivated meat sold or offered for sale by the plant is misbranded as a meat product; or
• The plant is failing to label cell-cultivated meat as required.

If, after an inspection, the department has reasonable cause to believe that a food processing plant is selling or offering for sale cell-cultivated meat that is misbranded as a meat product, or is failing to label cell-cultivated meat as required, the department may issue a stop order. Upon being issued the stop order, the food processing plant shall not sell the product or offer it for sale until the department determines whether it is misbranded or unlabeled in violation of the bill.

If the department determines that a food processing plant is selling or offering for sale cell-cultivated meat that is misbranded as a meat product, or is failing to label cell-cultivated meat as required, the department may issue an embargo order requiring the food processing plant to dispose of the cell-cultivated meat by means other than by sale to purchasers in Colorado.

The department, the attorney general, or the district attorney in the district where cell-cultivated meat is being offered for sale or sold may petition the district court to enforce a stop order or an embargo order.

The department may adopt rules as necessary to implement the bill.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)