AB 874

Genetic engineering

This bill imposes requirements relating to the labeling of food that is produced

through genetic engineering. The bill defines "genetic engineering" as the alteration

of the genetic material of an organism using specified techniques, including

recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques, techniques that involve the

introduction into an organism of hereditary materials prepared outside of the

organism, such as through microinjection, and techniques that involve the fusion of

cells in a way that does not occur naturally.

The requirements in the bill take effect one year after the bill is enacted.

Labeling

The bill generally prohibits a retailer, such as a grocer, from selling a packaged

food produced through genetic engineering unless the package is clearly labeled to

indicate that the food is produced through genetic engineering. The bill generally

prohibits a retailer from selling an unpackaged food produced through genetic

engineering unless the retailer places on the shelf or bin where the food is sold a sign

indicating that the food is produced through genetic engineering.

The bill also generally prohibits a retailer from selling a food produced through

genetic engineering that is labeled as "natural."

Exemptions

The bill contains a number of exemptions to the labeling requirements,

including those described below.

Under the bill, the labeling requirements do not apply to food that is produced

from an animal that was not genetically engineered, regardless of whether the

animal was fed or injected with a food or drug produced through genetic engineering.

The labeling requirements do not apply to unpackaged food that is sold in a

restaurant or is prepared and sold for takeout, for example, in a grocery store. The

bill also exempts from the labeling requirements, until July 1, 2020, processed foods

that contain ten or fewer ingredients produced through genetic engineering if the

weight of each is not more than 0.45 percent of the weight of the food.

The bill allows a retailer to rely on a sworn statement from a supplier that a food

was not knowingly produced through genetic engineering or on a determination by

an independent organization, based on sampling and testing, that a food was not

produced through genetic engineering. The bill requires the Department of

Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to promulgate rules specifying

requirements for sampling and testing by independent organizations.