OKLAHOMA CITY – A new law requiring cultivated- or manufactured-protein food products – including those derived from plant or insect proteins – to be clearly labeled as distinct from meat takes effect Nov. 1.

Rep. Jim Grego, R-Wilburton, authored House Bill 1126.

The measure requires food manufacturers to clearly disclose that cell-cultivated or cultured products or those that come from a lab, plants or insect proteins are not meat. Those convicted of false advertising could face a misdemeanor. 

"This law is an effort to help the buying public distinguish between what is real meat from an animal and what has been grown or manufactured in a lab or from a nonanimal source," Grego said. "This also will protect our state farmers and ranchers against the flood of products claiming to be meat."

Grego said consumers will still have the freedom to purchase lab-grown or nonanimal products if they wish, but this new law adds clarity for how they were produced to be clearly stated on the product's label.

"This is truth in labeling," Grego said.

Under the provisions of the act, "Agricultural food animal" means any domesticated animal belonging to the bovine, caprine, ovine or porcine species, or any domesticated chicken or turkey.

"Cultivated-protein food product" means a food product having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from an agricultural food animal but that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from manufacturing cells or nonanimal sources, including processes in which one or more stem cells are initially isolated from an agricultural food animal, are grown in vitro, and may be manipulated, as part of a manufacturing operation.

"Manufactured-protein food product" means a cultivated protein food product, insect-protein food product or plant-protein food product containing more than a trace amount of plant-protein food products.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry will be responsible for investigating all credible complaints that food products are falsely advertised or misbranded as meat products.

Sen. Roland Pederson, R-Burlington, is the Senate author of the bill.

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Jim Grego serves District 17 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes Latimer County and part and Pittsburg County.