(Statehouse) – Governor Mike Braun has signed into law a bill sponsored by an area lawmaker that bans the sale of cell-cultured proteins for the next two years.
State Sen. Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg) chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, and says the law also prohibits cell-cultured proteins from being labeled as meat products.
“The name ‘imitation meat product’ would be applied if in fact it became a legal product in Indiana after the two-year moratorium,” Leising said. “I just don’t think we should confuse people with an imitation product.”
Leising sponsored the bill in the Senate. She tells Brownfield Ag News the two-year ban allows for the committee to revisit the issue.
“Florida and Alabama have both banned the sale and production of cellular based products,” she added. “Let’s see what happens in the two states where there’s been total bans. Let’s see what happens in these other states.”
Cultured proteins are currently regulated jointly by the USDA and FDA, but no final product labeling requirements have been finalized.
The temporary ban goes into effect July 1st and will run through June 2027.
(Brownfield Ag News is a WRBI newsgathering partner)
