Bill
HB 1653
Missouri HB1653 defines cell-cultured meat and mRNA-based foods, distinguishes them from traditional meat, and tightens labeling and enforcement against adulteration.
Status
- Introduced in the Missouri House as HB 1653 (Introduced by Rep. Steinmeyer).
- The bill repeals and reenacts sections 196.010, 196.015, 196.025, 196.045, 196.050, and 196.075, RSMo.
- Legislative record shows an emergency clause and penalty provisions in the bill text.
- According to the provided timeline, the measure was enacted as Act 636 (notifications dated April 9–16, 2025). The emergency clause indicates the act takes effect immediately upon becoming law.
Purpose / Intent
- To revise the statutory definitions and certain regulatory provisions in Missouri’s food, drug, device, and cosmetic statutes with the stated aim of protecting the “integrity of food products.”
- To expressly define modern food technologies (notably “cell‑cultured meat” and “mRNA‑based products”) and to clarify how they are treated under state food laws.
Key provisions (as shown in the bill text)
- New and revised definitions (196.010):
- “Cell‑cultured meat product”: defined as food produced by cultivating animal cells in a controlled environment (e.g., using growth media or bioreactors) to replicate animal tissue for consumption without slaughter.
- “Meat”: explicitly defined as the edible portion of livestock derived from slaughter of a living animal; the definition expressly excludes any “cell‑cultured meat product.”
- “mRNA‑based product”: defined broadly to include any vaccine, treatment, or substance employing messenger RNA or similar gene‑therapy mechanisms to alter or introduce genetic material within an animal or plant used for human food.
- Other standard definitions (food, drug, device, cosmetic, department, person, etc.) are retained or adjusted to accommodate the new terms.
- Prohibitions and enforcement (196.015 and related sections):
- Continues and restates prohibitions on the manufacture, sale, delivery, receipt, or offering for sale of adulterated or misbranded food, drugs, devices, or cosmetics.
- Prohibits dissemination of false advertising and refusal to permit inspection/sampling.
- The bill includes penalty provisions and an emergency clause (text truncated in provided excerpt — see enacted Act for specifics).
- Structural change:
- The act replaces the listed statutory sections with the updated language, thereby making the new definitions and associated prohibitions part of Missouri’s consumer protection/food safety statutes.
Who or what would be affected
- Producers and sellers of traditional meat (livestock slaughter) and of cell‑cultured meat products.
- Developers and sellers of food products derived from or involving mRNA/gene‑therapy technologies.
- Food processors, packagers, distributors, retailers, and restaurants who label or market products that might be considered “meat” or that incorporate cell‑cultured or mRNA‑related ingredients.
- State regulatory agency(ies): the Department of Health and Senior Services (as “department” is referenced) and enforcement entities tasked with inspection, sampling, and enforcement of adulteration/misbranding laws.
- Consumers, who may see labeling/market changes and clearer statutory distinctions between traditionally slaughtered meat and cell‑cultured alternatives.
Procedural / timeline notes
- The act replaced six statutory sections and includes an emergency clause; with an emergency clause adopted, the law becomes effective immediately upon the governor’s approval (consult the enacted Act text for the exact effective date).
- Because the full penalty and enforcement language was truncated in the provided excerpt, stakeholders should review the final enrolled Act (Act 636) for complete compliance, enforcement, and penalty details.
Recommendation
- Producers, product developers (especially cell‑cultured and biotech food firms), and retailers should review the final Act text to determine labeling, marketing, and compliance obligations and consult legal/regulatory counsel as needed. Regulators and industry groups should monitor any rulemaking or guidance from the Department of Health and Senior Services implementing these changes.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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