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Meat labeling bill advances in Iowa House after Senate approval • Iowa Capital Dispatch [1]

['Jared Strong', 'More From Author', '- March']

Date: 2024-03

Legislation that would forbid food processors from labeling imitation meat products with words associated with butchered meat received early support Wednesday in the Iowa House.

Senate File 2391 would establish fines for businesses that manufacture, package and label foods for sale in stores when their products lead to consumer confusion about whether the products contain meat from livestock. Violations can incur fines of up to $10,000.

The bill was supported unanimously in the Senate last week after it was amended to remove a prohibition on regent university research into meat substitutes.

But the bill retained a provision that would prevent schools, community colleges and universities from purchasing the “misbranded” meat products and lab-grown meat.

According to the bill, misbranded products are those that are derived from plants, insects or cultivated meat that are labeled with words such as: cow, chicken, meat, beef, broiler, drumstick, wing and several others. There are exceptions for labels that also contain “a conspicuous and prominent qualifying term” such as fake, imitation or vegetarian.

A House subcommittee voted 2-1 on Wednesday to recommend the bill for further discussion.

Rep. Monica Kurth, D-Davenport, did not support the bill because of its restriction on food purchases by schools. She said House Democrats have mixed opinions about the restriction but that there is widespread support for the rest of the bill’s provisions.

“The labeling I was in favor of,” she said.

Rep. Heather Hora, R-Washington, who led the subcommittee, said the legislation is necessary to ensure consumers know what they are buying.

“Iowa farmers work hard every day to bring nutritious real meat to market,” she said. “Lab-grown products are not the same as the high-quality beef, pork or other meats raised by Iowa farm families.”

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