S00485 Summary:
BILL NO | S00485B |
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SAME AS | SAME AS A00617-B |
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SPONSOR | LAVALLE |
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COSPNSR | ADDABBO, AVELLA, BOYLE, BRESLIN, CARLUCCI, COMRIE, DILAN, ESPAILLAT, GIANARIS, HAMILTON, HANNON, HASSELL-THOMPSON, HOYLMAN, KAMINSKY, KRUEGER, LANZA, LATIMER, MARTINS, MONTGOMERY, MURPHY, PANEPINTO, PARKER, PERALTA, PERKINS, PERSAUD, RIVERA, ROBACH, SANDERS, SAVINO, SERRANO, STAVISKY |
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MLTSPNSR | |
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Add §391-u, Gen Bus L; amd §§198 & 201, Ag & Mkts L | |
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Provides for the labeling of raw agricultural commodities, processed foods, seed, and seed stock produced with genetic engineering; defines terms; imposes penalties for false labels and misbranding; sets forth exemptions. |
S00485 Actions:
BILL NO | S00485B | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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01/07/2015 | REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
05/28/2015 | AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO CONSUMER PROTECTION | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
05/28/2015 | PRINT NUMBER 485A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
06/02/2015 | COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
01/06/2016 | REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
01/29/2016 | AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO CONSUMER PROTECTION | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
01/29/2016 | PRINT NUMBER 485B | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
04/05/2016 | COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES |
S00485 Text:
Go to top STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 485--B 2015-2016 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 7, 2015 ___________ Introduced by Sens. LAVALLE, ADDABBO, AVELLA, BOYLE, BRESLIN, CARLUCCI, COMRIE, DILAN, ESPAILLAT, HAMILTON, HASSELL-THOMPSON, HOYLMAN, KRUEG- ER, LANZA, LATIMER, MARTINS, MONTGOMERY, MURPHY, PANEPINTO, PARKER, PERALTA, PERKINS, RIVERA, ROBACH, SAVINO, SERRANO, STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee -- recommitted to the Committee on Consumer Protection in accord- ance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the general business law and the agriculture and markets law, in relation to the labeling of genetically modified foods The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds that 2 New York state consumers have the right to know whether the foods they 3 purchase have been produced with genetic engineering so they can make 4 informed purchasing decisions. 5 Further the legislature finds that: 6 (a) Currently, there is no federal law that requires food producers to 7 identify whether foods were produced with genetic engineering. At the 8 same time, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not 9 require safety studies of such foods; 10 (b) Identification of foods produced with genetic engineering can 11 provide a critical method for tracking effects of consuming foods 12 produced with genetic engineering; 13 (c) More than sixty countries, including key United States trading 14 partners, have laws mandating disclosure of genetically engineered 15 foods. Identifying foods produced with genetic engineering will help 16 protect our state's export market; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03147-07-6S. 485--B 2 1 (d) A variety of genetically engineered crops are commercially culti- 2 vated and sold in the United States, including corn, canola, sugar 3 beets, soybean, cotton, alfalfa, and papaya. It has been estimated that 4 70-80% of packaged grocery products contain some materials derived from 5 these genetically engineered crops; 6 (e) Without disclosure, consumers with certain dietary restrictions 7 may unknowingly consume such food in violation of such dietary 8 restrictions; 9 (f) Preserving the identity, quality, and reliability of agricultural 10 products is of prime importance to our state's fiscal health; 11 (g) The cultivation of genetically engineered crops can cause serious 12 environmental impacts; 13 (h) It is the intent of this act to ensure that New York consumers and 14 farmers are fully and reliably informed about whether the food and seed 15 they purchase and eat were produced with genetic engineering so they may 16 choose for themselves whether to purchase and eat or use such food and 17 seed; 18 (i) It is the intent of this act only to regulate the labeling of 19 seed, seed stock, and food for human consumption offered for retail sale 20 within New York State. 21 § 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 391-u 22 to read as follows: 23 § 391-u. Genetically engineered foods; required labeling. 1. Defi- 24 nitions. As used in this section, the term: 25 (a) "Department" means the state department of agriculture and 26 markets. 27 (b) "Distributor" means a person or business engaged in any method of 28 distributing or transporting a food or food product from one place to 29 another. 30 (c) "Enzyme" means a protein that catalyzes chemical reactions of 31 other substances without itself being destroyed or altered upon 32 completion of the reactions. 33 (d) "Genetically engineered," or "genetically modified," or any deriv- 34 ative of those words, as applied to any food for human consumption or 35 seed means produced from or with an organism or organisms with genetics 36 altered materially through the application of: 37 (i) in vitro nucleic acid techniques, including but not limited to 38 recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques and the direct 39 injection of nucleic acid into cells or organelles; or 40 (ii) the fusion of cells beyond the taxonomic family that overcomes 41 natural physiological, reproductive, or recombinant barriers and that 42 are not techniques used in traditional breeding and selection. 43 For purposes of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, "in vitro nucleic 44 acid techniques" include, but are not limited to, recombinant DNA or RNA 45 techniques that use vector systems, and techniques involving the direct 46 introduction into the organisms of hereditary materials prepared outside 47 the organisms such as biolistics, microinjection, macro-injection, 48 chemoporation, electroporation, microencapsulation, and liposome fusion. 49 (e) "Manufacturer" means a person or business engaged in the 50 production or processing of seed, seed stock, or any food product. 51 (f) "Medical food" means a food that is formulated to be consumed or 52 administered enterally under the supervision of a physician and that is 53 intended for the specific dietary management of a disease or condition 54 for which distinctive nutritional requirements, based on recognized 55 scientific principles, are established by medical evaluation.S. 485--B 3 1 (g) "Processed food" means any food other than a raw agricultural 2 commodity, including any food produced from a raw agricultural commodity 3 that has been subject to processing such as canning, smoking, pressing, 4 cooking, freezing, dehydration, fermentation, or milling. 5 (h) "Processing aid" means: 6 (i) a substance that is added to a food during the processing of the 7 food but is removed in some manner from the food before it is packaged 8 in its finished form; 9 (ii) a substance that is added to a food during processing, is 10 converted into constituents normally present in the food, and does not 11 significantly increase the amount of the constituents naturally found in 12 the food; or 13 (iii) a substance that is added to a food for its technical or func- 14 tional effect in the processing but is present in the finished food at 15 insignificant levels and does not have any technical or functional 16 effect in that finished food. 17 (i) "Stock-keeping unit," for purposes of subdivision three of this 18 section, shall mean all of a group of food items of the same brand, 19 quantity of contents, retail price, and variety. 20 (j) "Raw agricultural commodity" means any plant, animal, or fungi 21 grown or produced for human food-use purposes. 22 (k) "Retailer" means a person or business engaged in selling food from 23 individuals or businesses to the end-user. 24 2. Labeling of genetically engineered seed and food. (a) Any food for 25 human consumption, seed, or seed stock offered for retail sale in New 26 York is misbranded if it is entirely genetically engineered or partially 27 produced with genetic engineering and that fact is not disclosed as 28 follows: 29 (i) In the case of a raw agricultural commodity that is not separately 30 packaged or labeled, the words "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or 31 any other derivative of those words, the initials "GE", "GM", or "GMO", 32 or a derivative of those phrases, shall be placed on the container used 33 for packaging, holding, and/or transport in a clear and conspicuous 34 manner by the manufacturer, and maintained by the distributor, and 35 displayed in a clear and conspicuous manner on the retail store shelf or 36 bin in which such commodity is offered for sale by the retailer. 37 (ii) In the case of a raw agricultural commodity that is separately 38 packaged or processed food containing some products of genetic engineer- 39 ing, the manufacturer must label the food, in a clear and conspicuous 40 manner on the package of such food, with the words "Produced with Genet- 41 ic Engineering" or any other derivative of those words, the initials 42 "GE", "GM", "GMO", or a derivative of those phrases. 43 (iii) In the case of any seed or seed stock, the manufacturer or other 44 entity responsible for producing the seed must label the seed or seed 45 stock container, the sales receipt, and any other reference to identifi- 46 cation, ownership, or possession, in a clear and conspicuous manner with 47 the words "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or any other derivative of 48 those words, the initials "GE", "GM", "GMO", or a derivative of those 49 phrases. 50 (b) This section shall not be construed to require either the listing 51 or identification of any ingredients that were genetically engineered, 52 nor that the phrase "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or any other 53 derivative of those words, the initials "GE", "GM", "GMO", or a deriva- 54 tive of those phrases be placed immediately preceding any common name or 55 primary product descriptor of a food.S. 485--B 4 1 (c) Any processed food that would be subject to this section solely 2 because it includes one or more materials produced with genetic engi- 3 neering is not misbranded provided that the genetically engineered mate- 4 rials in the aggregate do not account for more than nine-tenths of one 5 percent of the total weight of the processed food. 6 (d) This subdivision does not apply to any of the following: 7 (i) Food consisting entirely of, or derived entirely from, an animal 8 that has not itself been produced with genetic engineering, regardless 9 of whether the animal has been fed with any food produced with genetic 10 engineering or treated with any drug or vaccine that has been produced 11 with genetic engineering; 12 (ii) A raw agricultural commodity, processed food, or seed that has 13 been grown, raised, produced, or derived without the knowing and inten- 14 tional use of genetically engineered seed or food. To be included within 15 the exclusion under this paragraph, the person or entity responsible for 16 complying with this subdivision with respect to a raw agricultural 17 commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock must obtain, from whomev- 18 er sold the raw agricultural commodity, processed food, seed, or seed 19 stock to that person, a written statement, which may be included on an 20 invoice that may be in an electronic form, that the raw agricultural 21 commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock: (1) has not been know- 22 ingly or intentionally produced with genetic engineering; and (2) has 23 been segregated from, and has not been knowingly or intentionally 24 commingled with foods or seeds that may have been produced with genetic 25 engineering; 26 (iii) Any processed food that would be subject to this section solely 27 because one or more of the processing aids or enzymes used in its 28 production were produced with or derived from genetic engineering; 29 (iv) Any alcoholic beverage that is subject to regulation by the alco- 30 holic beverage control law; 31 (v) Food that has been lawfully certified to be labeled, marketed, and 32 offered for sale as "organic" pursuant to the federal Organic Foods 33 Production Act of 1990, 7 U.S.C. 6501, et seq. as amended from time to 34 time, and the National Organic Program regulations promulgated pursuant 35 thereto by the United States Department of Agriculture; 36 (vi) Food that is not packaged for sale and that either: (i) is a 37 processed food prepared and intended for immediate human consumption or 38 (ii) is served, sold, or otherwise provided in any restaurant, food 39 facility, or food retailer that is engaged in the sale of food prepared 40 and intended for immediate human consumption; or 41 (vii) Medical food. 42 3. Violation. Any person or entity who violates the requirements of 43 this section shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than one 44 thousand dollars, per day, per stock-keeping unit, provided however that 45 no liability shall arise under this section until after said person or 46 entity is given formal notice of the violation. 47 4. Notice of violation. In any case where there has been a final 48 determination by the department, of a violation of any of the provisions 49 of this section, the department shall make available to the public, 50 without charge, the following information: 51 (a) the name and business address of the violator; 52 (b) the date or dates of inspection of the violator's premises by the 53 department; 54 (c) the violation that was determined to have occurred, including the 55 name of the product; and 56 (d) the amount of the penalty that was assessed by the department.S. 485--B 5 1 5. Third-party protection; reliance on written statement. A distribu- 2 tor or retailer that sells a raw agricultural commodity, processed food, 3 seed, or seed stock that has been produced with genetic engineering that 4 fails to make the disclosure required pursuant to subdivision two of 5 this section, is not subject to financial liability in any civil action 6 to enforce this section if the distributor or retailer relied on the 7 written statement obtained under subdivision two of this section 8 provided by the manufacturer stating that the raw agricultural commod- 9 ity, processed food, seed, or seed stock is not subject to the disclo- 10 sure requirements under this section. 11 § 3. Section 198 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by 12 adding a new subdivision 12 to read as follows: 13 12. The term: (a) "Distributor" means a person or business engaged in 14 any method of distributing or transporting a food or food product from 15 one place to another. 16 (b) "Enzyme" means a protein that catalyzes chemical reactions of 17 other substances without itself being destroyed or altered upon 18 completion of the reactions. 19 (c) "Genetically engineered," or "genetically modified," or any deriv- 20 ative of those words, as applied to any food for human consumption or 21 seed means produced from or with an organism or organisms with genetics 22 altered materially through the application of: 23 (i) in vitro nucleic acid techniques, including but not limited to 24 recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques and the direct 25 injection of nucleic acid into cells or organelles; or 26 (ii) the fusion of cells beyond the taxonomic family that overcomes 27 natural physiological, reproductive, or recombinant barriers and that 28 are not techniques used in traditional breeding and selection. 29 For purposes of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, "in vitro nucleic 30 acid techniques" include, but are not limited to, recombinant DNA or RNA 31 techniques that use vector systems and techniques involving the direct 32 introduction into the organisms of hereditary materials prepared outside 33 the organisms such as biolistics, microinjection, macro-injection, 34 chemoporation, electroporation, microencapsulation, and liposome fusion. 35 (d) "Manufacturer" means a person or business engaged in the 36 production or processing of seed, seed stock, or any food product. 37 (e) "Medical food" means a food that is formulated to be consumed or 38 administered enterally under the supervision of a physician and that is 39 intended for the specific dietary management of a disease or condition 40 for which distinctive nutritional requirements, based on recognized 41 scientific principles, are established by medical evaluation. 42 (f) "Processed food" means any food other than a raw agricultural 43 commodity, including any food produced from a raw agricultural commodity 44 that has been subject to processing such as canning, smoking, pressing, 45 cooking, freezing, dehydration, fermentation, or milling. 46 (g) "Processing aid" means: 47 (i) a substance that is added to a food during the processing of the 48 food but is removed in some manner from the food before it is packaged 49 in its finished form; 50 (ii) a substance that is added to a food during processing, is 51 converted into constituents normally present in the food, and does not 52 significantly increase the amount of the constituents naturally found in 53 the food; or 54 (iii) a substance that is added to a food for its technical or func- 55 tional effect in the processing but is present in the finished food atS. 485--B 6 1 insignificant levels and does not have any technical or functional 2 effect in that finished food. 3 (h) For the purposes of paragraph (e) of subdivision fifteen of 4 section two hundred one of this article, "stock-keeping unit" shall mean 5 all of a group of food items of the same brand, quantity of contents, 6 retail price, and variety. 7 (i)"Raw agricultural commodity" means any plant, animal, or fungi 8 grown or produced for human food-use purposes. 9 (j) "Retailer" means a person or business engaged in selling food from 10 individuals or businesses to the end-user. 11 § 4. Section 201 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by 12 adding a new subdivision 15 to read as follows: 13 15. (a) Any food for human consumption, seed, or seed stock offered 14 for retail sale in New York is misbranded if it is entirely genetically 15 engineered or partially produced with genetic engineering and that fact 16 is not disclosed as follows: 17 (i) In the case of a raw agricultural commodity that is not separately 18 packaged or labeled, the words "produced with genetic engineering" or 19 any other derivative of those words, the initials "GE", "GM", or "GMO", 20 or a derivative of those phrases, shall be placed on the container used 21 for packaging, holding, and/or transport in a clear and conspicuous 22 manner by the manufacturer, and maintained by the distributor, and 23 displayed in a clear and conspicuous manner on the retail shelf or bin 24 in which such commodity is offered for sale by the retailer. 25 (ii) In the case of a raw agricultural commodity that is separately 26 packaged or processed food containing some products of genetic engineer- 27 ing, the manufacturer must label the food, in a clear and conspicuous 28 manner on the package of such food, with the words "Produced with Genet- 29 ic Engineering" or any other derivative of those words, the initials 30 "GE", "GM", "GMO", or a derivative of those phrases. 31 (iii) In the case of any seed or seed stock, the manufacturer or other 32 entity responsible for producing the seed must label the seed or seed 33 stock container, the sales receipt, and any other reference to identifi- 34 cation, ownership, or possession, in a clear and conspicuous manner with 35 the words "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or any other derivative of 36 those words, the initials "GE,", "GM", "GMO", or a derivative of those 37 phrases. 38 (b) This subdivision shall not be construed to require either the 39 listing or identification of any ingredients that were genetically engi- 40 neered, nor that the phrase "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or any 41 other derivative of those words, the initials "GE," "GM", "GMO", or a 42 derivative of those phrases be placed immediately preceding any common 43 name or primary product descriptor of a food. 44 (c) Any processed food that would be subject to this section solely 45 because it includes one or more materials produced with genetic engi- 46 neering is not misbranded provided that the genetically engineered mate- 47 rials in the aggregate do not account for more than nine-tenths of one 48 percent of the total weight of the processed food. 49 (d) This subdivision does not apply to any of the following: 50 (i) Food consisting entirely of, or derived entirely from, an animal 51 that has not itself been produced with genetic engineering, regardless 52 of whether the animal has been fed with any food produced with genetic 53 engineering or treated with any drug or vaccine that has been produced 54 with genetic engineering; 55 (ii) A raw agricultural commodity, processed food, or seed that has 56 been grown, raised, produced, or derived without the knowing and inten-S. 485--B 7 1 tional use of genetically engineered seed or food. To be included within 2 the exclusion under this paragraph, the person or entity responsible for 3 complying with paragraph (a) of this subdivision with respect to a raw 4 agricultural commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock must obtain, 5 from whomever sold the raw agricultural commodity, processed food, seed, 6 or seed stock must obtain, from whomever sold the raw agricultural 7 commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock to that person, a written 8 statement, which may be included on an invoice that may be in an elec- 9 tronic form, that the raw agricultural commodity, processed food, seed, 10 or seed stock: (1) has not been knowingly or intentionally produced with 11 genetic engineering; and (2) has been segregated from, and has not been 12 knowingly or intentionally commingled with foods or seeds that may have 13 been produced with genetic engineering; 14 (iii) Any processed food that would be subject to this subdivision 15 solely because one or more of the processing aids or enzymes used in its 16 production were produced with or derived from genetic engineering; 17 (iv) Any alcoholic beverage that is subject to regulation by the alco- 18 holic beverage control law; 19 (v) Food that has been lawfully certified to be labeled, marketed, and 20 offered for sale as "organic" pursuant to the federal Organic Foods 21 Production Act of 1990, 7 U.S.C. 6501, et seq. as amended from time to 22 time, and the National Organic Program regulations promulgated pursuant 23 thereto by the United States Department of Agriculture; 24 (vi) Food that is not packaged for sale and that either: (i) is a 25 processed food prepared and intended for immediate human consumption or 26 (ii) is served, sold, or otherwise provided in any restaurant, food 27 facility, or food retailer that is engaged in the sale of food prepared 28 and intended for immediate human consumption; or 29 (vii) Medical food. 30 (e) Any person or entity who violates the requirements of this section 31 shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than one thousand 32 dollars, per day, per stock-keeping unit, provided however that no 33 liability shall arise under this section until after said person or 34 entity is given formal notice of the violation. 35 (f) In any case where there has been a final determination by the 36 department, of a violation of any of the provisions of this subdivision, 37 the department shall make available to the public, without charge, the 38 following information: 39 (i) the name and business address of the violator; 40 (ii) the date or dates of inspection of the violator's premises by the 41 department; 42 (iii) the violation that was determined to have occurred, including 43 the name of the product; and 44 (iv) the amount of the penalty that was assessed by the department. 45 (g) A distributor or retailer that sells a raw agricultural commodity, 46 processed food, seed, or seed stock that has been produced with genetic 47 engineering that fails to make the disclosure required pursuant to 48 section three hundred ninety-one-u of the general business law, is not 49 subject to financial liability in any civil action to enforce this 50 section if the distributor or retailer relied on the written statement 51 obtained under subdivision two of section three hundred ninety-one-u of 52 the general business law provided by the manufacturer stating that the 53 raw agricultural commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock is not 54 subject to the disclosure requirements under such section. 55 § 5. Severability clause. If any provision of this act or its applica- 56 tion to any person, legal entity, or circumstance is held invalid, theS. 485--B 8 1 remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other 2 persons, legal entity or circumstances shall not be affected. 3 § 6. This act shall take effect twenty-four months after it shall have 4 become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the depart- 5 ment of agriculture and markets shall adopt any rules and regulations 6 necessary to implement this act, including, but not limited to, creating 7 and maintaining a list, which shall be made available to the public at 8 no cost, of raw agricultural commodities that are produced with genetic 9 engineering; provided, further, that the department of agriculture and 10 markets is not authorized to create any exemptions beyond those provided 11 for in paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 of section 391-u of the general 12 business law as added by section two of this act and paragraph (d) of 13 subdivision 15 of section 201 of the agriculture and markets law as 14 added by section four of this act; this act shall remain in effect until 15 such time as a comprehensive federal system requiring mandatory labeling 16 of raw agricultural commodities, processed foods, seed, and seed stock 17 produced with genetic engineering is implemented, provided however that 18 nothing contained herein shall prevent the state from exercising any 19 concurrent authority authorized by federal law; provided that the 20 commissioner of agriculture and markets shall notify the legislative 21 bill drafting commission upon the occurrence of the enactment of a 22 comprehensive federal system requiring mandatory labeling of raw agri- 23 cultural commodities, processed foods, seed, and seed stock produced 24 with genetic engineering in order that the commission may maintain an 25 accurate and timely effective data base of the official text of the laws 26 of the state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions 27 of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public 28 officers law.