HF 3140

as introduced - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 03/17/2014 02:05pm

A bill for an act
relating to commerce; providing consumer protection; requiring disclosure
of genetically engineered food and seed; proposing coding for new law in
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 325F.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

[325F.1792] PURPOSE; CONSTRUCTION.

Subdivision 1.

Purpose.

Sections 325F.1792 to 325F.1798 prohibit advertising or
sale of seed grown for human food if the seed is genetically engineered and that fact is not
disclosed as required under section 325F.1794.

Subd. 2.

Construction.

Sections 325F.1792 to 325F.1798 shall be construed to
supplement and not conflict with any federal law or regulation.

Sec. 2.

[325F.1793] DEFINITIONS.

Subdivision 1.

Applicability.

For the purposes of sections 325F.1793 to 325F.1798,
the terms in this section have the meanings given.

Subd. 2.

Cultivated commercially.

"Cultivated commercially" means grown or
raised in the course of a business or trade and sold or offered for sale within this state or
the United States generally.

Subd. 3.

Distributor.

"Distributor" means a person or business engaged in any
method of distributing or transporting a food or food product intended for human
consumption in this state from one place to another that the person or business did not
produce.

Subd. 4.

Enzyme.

"Enzyme" means a protein that catalyzes chemical reactions of
other substances without being destroyed or altered upon completion of the reactions.

Subd. 5.

Genetically engineered and similar terms.

"Genetically engineered,"
"genetic engineering," "genetically modified," "genetic modification," "genetically
manipulated," "genetic manipulation," or similar terms, when applied to human food,
means a food that is produced from or with an organism or organisms with genetics altered
materially through the application of: (1) in vitro and in vivo nucleic acid techniques,
including recombinant ribonucleic acid (RNA) techniques, recombinant deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA) techniques, and the direct injection of nucleic acid into cells or organelles;
or (2) methods of fusing cells beyond the taxonomic family that overcome natural
physiological reproductive or recombinant barriers, and that are not techniques used in
traditional breeding and selection such as conjugation, transduction, and hybridization.
"Genetically engineered," "genetic engineering," "genetically modified," "genetic
modification," "genetically manipulated," "genetic manipulation," or similar terms, when
applied to human food, also mean a food derived from an organism that was treated with
a genetically engineered material and a food that contains an ingredient, component, or
other article that is genetically engineered.

Subd. 6.

In vitro and in vivo nucleic acid techniques.

"In vitro and in vivo
nucleic acid techniques" means techniques, including but not limited to recombinant
deoxyribonucleic acid techniques that use vector systems and techniques involving the
direct introduction into the organisms of hereditary material or other nucleic acid molecules,
such as RNAi, prepared outside the organisms, such as microinjection, macroinjection,
chemoporation, electroportation, microencapsulation, and liposome fusion.

Subd. 7.

Manufacturer.

"Manufacturer" means a person or business engaged in the
production or processing of seed, seed stock, food, or any food product.

Subd. 8.

Organism.

"Organism" means any biological entity capable of replication,
reproduction, or transferring genetic material.

Subd. 9.

Processed food.

"Processed food" means any food other than a
raw agricultural commodity and includes any food produced from a raw agricultural
commodity that was processed through canning, smoking, pressing, cooking, freezing,
dehydration, fermentation, or milling.

Subd. 10.

Processing aid.

"Processing aid" means:

(1) a substance that is added to a food during the processing of the food but is
removed from the food in some manner before the food is packaged in a final form;

(2) a substance that is added to a food during processing, is converted into
constituents normally present in the food, and does not significantly increase the amount
of the constituents found in the food; or

(3) a substance that is added to a food for its technical or functional effect in the
processing but is present in the finished food at insignificant levels and does not have any
technical or functional effect in the finished food.

Subd. 11.

Retailer.

"Retailer" means a person or business engaged in selling food
from individuals or businesses to the end user. For the purposes of section 325F.1794,
"retailer" does not mean a manufacturer when the manufacturer is also acting as a retailer
with respect to the food item at issue.

Sec. 3.

[325F.1794] DISCLOSURE OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD
OR SEED.

Subdivision 1.

Disclosure required.

On and after January 1, 2015, any food or seed
sold or offered for sale in this state is misbranded if it is, or may have been, genetically
engineered and that fact is not disclosed as follows:

(1) in the case of the package offered for sale, the words "Produced with Genetic
Engineering" shall be placed on the package offered for sale in a clear and conspicuous
manner by the manufacturer;

(2) in the case of a food, food product, or agricultural commodity that is not
separately packaged or labeled, the words "Produced with Genetic Engineering" shall
be placed on the container used for packaging, holding, or transporting in a clear and
conspicuous manner by the manufacturer, and maintained by the distributor, and on
the retail store shelf or bin in which the commodity is displayed for sale in a clear and
conspicuous manner by the retailer;

(3) in the case of any seed or seed stock, the words "Produced with Genetic
Engineering" shall be placed on the seed or seed stock container, on the sales receipt, or on
any other reference to identification, ownership, or possession in a clear and conspicuous
manner by the manufacturer or other entity responsible for producing the seed or seed stock.

Subd. 2.

Exceptions.

(a) The requirements in subdivision 1 do not apply to a
processed food that would be subject to this section solely because one or more processing
aids or enzymes were produced or derived with genetic engineering.

(b) A food package that contains a commodity or food produced in any way with
genetic engineering that does not display a disclosure as required in subdivision 1, clause
(1) or (2), shall be deemed misbranded in this state, except that:

(1) the package must not be considered misbranded if it is for a commodity or food
produced by a person who grows, raises, or otherwise produces the commodity or food
without knowledge that the commodity or food was created with seed or other food that
was derived in any way through a process of genetic engineering. The person must obtain
a signed, written statement from the party that sold the seed or food to the person that
the substance was not knowingly genetically engineered, was entirely segregated from,
and has not knowingly been commingled with a food or food component that may have
been created through genetic engineering; or

(2) the package will not be considered misbranded if it is a processed food that
would be subject to this disclosure requirement solely because it includes one or more
materials produced with genetic engineering, provided that the genetically engineered
materials in the aggregate do not account for more than nine-tenths of one percent of the
total weight of the processed food.

(c) The use of manure as a fertilizer for a raw agricultural commodity must not be
construed to mean that the commodity was produced with a genetically engineered material.

(d) A person who initially provides the affirmation required in paragraph (b), clause
(1), may rely on a sworn statement maintained by the person's supplier that contains
the required affirmation.

(e) The disclosure requirements of this section do not apply to food intended for
human consumption that is not packaged for retail sale and that either (1) is a processed
food prepared and intended for immediate consumption, or (2) is served, sold, or otherwise
provided in any restaurant or other food facility that is primarily engaged in the sale of
food prepared and intended for immediate consumption.

(f) The disclosure requirements of this section do not apply to food consisting
entirely of, or derived entirely from, an animal that was not genetically engineered,
regardless of whether such animal was fed or injected with any genetically engineered
food or any drug that was produced through means of genetic engineering.

(g) The disclosure requirements of this section do not apply to food, food products,
seed, or seed stock certified as "organic" under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990,
United States Code, title 7, section 6501, et seq., and its implementing regulations.

(h) A person or entity who unknowingly produces, transports, or sells agricultural
commodities that (1) have been affected by the unintended presence of genetically
engineered materials, and (2) were grown on land owned or operated by that person or
entity, shall not be found liable or negligent in any civil proceeding brought to enforce
this chapter.

Subd. 3.

Rulemaking.

The commissioner of commerce may adopt rules to
implement this section.

Sec. 4.

[325F.1795] THIRD-PARTY PROTECTION.

A retailer that sells or advertises a processed food product, when the product fails
to conform to the disclosure requirements under section 325F.1794, shall not be found
liable or negligent in any civil proceeding brought to enforce this chapter. Protection
afforded by this section does not apply to fruit, vegetables, or animals produced with
genetic engineering.

Sec. 5.

[325F.1796] MISBRANDING OF NATURAL FOODS PROHIBITED.

A food, food product, seed, or seed stock that is subject to disclosure under section
325F.1794 may not be described on the label, packaging, or by similar identification as
"natural."

Sec. 6.

[325F.1797] ENFORCEMENT; PRIVATE ACTION PROHIBITED.

The commissioner of commerce shall enforce sections 325F.1793 to 325F.1796.
There is no private right of action to enforce sections 325F.1793 to 325F.1796.

Sec. 7.

[325F.1798] SEVERABILITY.

If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is
held invalid or in violation of the state or United States Constitution or any other law
of the United States, the invalidity or the violation shall not affect other provisions of
sections 325F.1792 to 325F.1798 that can be given effect without the invalid provision or
application, and to this end, the provisions of this act are severable.

Sec. 8. FINDINGS.

The legislature finds that:

(1) the state regulates the release of genetically engineered organisms under
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 18F;

(2) the state requires that an environmental impact statement be completed prior to
development of genetically engineered wild rice;

(3) Minnesota Statutes, sections 31.021 to 31.103 and 34A.03, establish requirements
for the labeling of food sold in Minnesota;

(4) 64 countries require that foods containing ingredients derived from genetically
engineered crops be labeled as such;

(5) three states (Connecticut, Maine, and Alaska) have adopted genetically
engineered organism labeling statutes;

(6) the free market is dependent on the provision of truthful and transparent
information regarding products offered for sale;

(7) markets for identity-preserved (IP), nongenetically engineered organism crops
and products are expanding rapidly, providing opportunities for Minnesota agricultural
producers and food processors;

(8) polls consistently show overwhelming support for the mandatory labeling of
foods containing genetically engineered organisms;

(9) researchers at the University of Minnesota have attributed the decline in Monarch
butterfly populations to the widespread planting of genetically engineered organism crops;

(10) research in Indiana has shown that toxins in genetically engineered Bt corn
persist in soil and water and cause mortality among aquatic organisms;

(11) research in Iowa has established that genetically engineered organism soybeans
contain high levels of glyphosate, while nongenetically engineered organism soybeans
contain no such residues;

(12) research in Iowa has also shown that female hogs fed genetically engineered
organism feeds for 22 weeks had significantly heavier uteri and all hogs had significantly
higher levels of digestive system problems than hogs fed nongenetically engineered
organism rations;

(13) research in France has shown that rats fed genetically engineered corn for
their entire lives develop tumors and die earlier than rats fed normal corn, while research
in Canada has shown that Bt toxins in genetically engineered organism corn cross the
placental barrier and are found in fetal cord blood;

(14) over 20 weed species in the United States have developed herbicide resistance
since the introduction of genetically engineered organism crops, leading to an increase in
herbicide use and increased costs for producers;

(15) according to researchers in Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois, corn rootworms have
developed resistance to Bt toxins in genetically engineered organism corn, leading to an
increase in insecticide use and increased costs for producers;

(16) the costs of agricultural seeds have more than tripled since the introduction of
patented genetically engineered organism crops;

(17) the establishment of mandatory genetically engineered organism labeling
and traceability will contribute to functional coexistance between farmers who grow
genetically engineered organism, nongenetically engineered organism, and organic crops
by reducing transaction costs (delayed planting, isolation buffers, testing) for producers
who choose not to grow genetically engineered organism crops; and

(18) genetically engineered organism labeling will provide consumer choice and
expand market opportunities for Minnesota's agricultural producers and food processors.

Sec. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

Sections 1 to 8 are effective August 1, 2015.