Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 664, which aims to clarify the source protein in alternative, analogue and cell-cultured “meat” products in the state through specific labeling requirements.
The law classifies alternative protein sources as analogue or cell-cultured and requires processors to then label those products prominently and uniformly in an effort to separate them from beef, chicken and egg products derived directly from the traditional animal supply chain sources.
The law will take effect Sept. 1, 2023, and would redefine misbranded product as any “analogue product of meat, a meat food product, poultry, a poultry product, an egg product, or fish, unless its label bears in prominent type equal to or greater in size than the surrounding type and in close proximity to the name of the product one of the following: ‘analogue,’ ‘meatless,’ ‘plant-based,’ ‘made from plants,’ or a similar qualifying term or disclaimer intended to clearly communicate to a consumer the contents of the product.”
For cell-cultured products, the label would need to prominently display the term “cell-cultured,” “lab-grown,” or a similar qualifying term or disclaimer.
Other states have passed similar label restrictions in recent years, with some of these laws facing ongoing federal legal challenges as violations of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
