Florida Senate - 2014                                     SB 558
       
       
        
       By Senator Ring
       
       
       
       
       
       29-00306-14                                            2014558__
    1  
    2                        A bill to be entitled                      
    3         An act relating to genetically engineered food;
    4         creating s. 500.90, F.S.; providing definitions;
    5         providing a list of raw agricultural commodities found
    6         by the Legislature to be cultivated commercially in
    7         genetically engineered form; requiring the Department
    8         of Agriculture and Consumer Services to annually
    9         compile and publish a list of raw agricultural
   10         commodities that are cultivated commercially in
   11         genetically engineered form by a specified date;
   12         requiring that the list be based upon the most current
   13         available information and specific legislative
   14         findings; requiring manufacturer, processor, packer,
   15         distributor, and retail food store labeling practices
   16         for genetically engineered foods by a specified date;
   17         exempting specified foods, commodities, ingredients,
   18         and other substances from the labeling requirements;
   19         providing penalties and civil remedies; authorizing
   20         the department to adopt rules; providing an effective
   21         date.
   22  
   23         WHEREAS, the genetic engineering of plants and animals is
   24  becoming a common practice in the food industry, and
   25         WHEREAS, manipulating genes and inserting them into
   26  organisms is an imprecise process that produces results that are
   27  not always predictable or controllable and that could lead to
   28  adverse health or environmental consequences, and
   29         WHEREAS, the cultivation of genetically engineered crops
   30  can necessitate the use of increasingly toxic herbicides that
   31  can damage agricultural areas, impair drinking water, and pose a
   32  health risk to consumers and farmworkers, and
   33         WHEREAS, public confidence in organic food products may
   34  wane as organic farmers’ crops are regularly threatened with
   35  accidental contamination by genetically engineered seed and by
   36  neighboring lands where genetically engineered crops abound,
   37  significantly undermining this industry, and
   38         WHEREAS, labeling of genetically engineered foods can
   39  provide a critical method for tracking the potentially dangerous
   40  health effects of consuming genetically engineered foods, and
   41         WHEREAS, currently, there is no federal requirement
   42  mandating disclosure of genetic engineering on food labels, and
   43         WHEREAS, the vast majority of the public desires notice
   44  before consuming genetically engineered food, and
   45         WHEREAS, countries around the world, including the European
   46  Union member states, Japan, and other key United States trading
   47  partners, have laws mandating the disclosure of genetic
   48  engineering on food labels, and
   49         WHEREAS, no international agreement prohibits the labeling
   50  of genetically engineered foods, and
   51         WHEREAS, without the labeling of genetically engineered
   52  food, consumers may unknowingly violate personal dietary and
   53  religious principles, and
   54         WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that consumers should have
   55  the right to know whether food contains genetically engineered
   56  material and that consumers should have the choice to avoid
   57  purchasing genetically engineered food that could cause adverse
   58  health and environmental effects, NOW, THEREFORE,
   59  
   60  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   61  
   62         Section 1. Section 500.90, Florida Statutes, is created to
   63  read:
   64         500.90 Genetically engineered food.—
   65         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   66         (a) “Cultivated commercially” means commonly grown or
   67  raised by a person in the course of a business or trade.
   68         (b) “Enzyme” means a protein that catalyzes chemical
   69  reactions of other substances without itself being destroyed or
   70  altered upon completion of the reactions.
   71         (c) “Genetically engineered” means food that consists of,
   72  is composed of, contains, or is produced from an organism or
   73  organisms in which the genetic material has been changed through
   74  the application of:
   75         1. Fusion of cells, including protoplast fusion, or
   76  hybridization techniques that overcome natural physiological,
   77  reproductive, or recombination barriers, where the donor cells
   78  or protoplasts do not fall within the same taxonomic family, in
   79  a way that does not occur by natural multiplication or natural
   80  recombination; or
   81         2. In vitro nucleic acid techniques, including recombinant
   82  deoxyribonucleic acid techniques and the direct injection of
   83  nucleic acid into cells or organelles. Such techniques include,
   84  but are not limited to, recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid or
   85  ribonucleic acid techniques that use vector systems and
   86  techniques involving the direct introduction into the organism
   87  of hereditary material prepared outside the organism such as
   88  microinjection, macroinjection, chemoporation, electroporation,
   89  microencapsulation, and liposome fusion.
   90         (d) “Ingredient” means a substance that is used in the
   91  manufacture, or contained in the final form, of a processed
   92  food.
   93         (e) “Processed food” means food other than a raw
   94  agricultural commodity and includes food produced from a raw
   95  agricultural commodity that has been subject to processing such
   96  as canning, smoking, pressing, cooking, freezing, dehydration,
   97  fermentation, or milling.
   98         (f) “Processing aid” means:
   99         1. A substance that is added to a food during the
  100  processing of the food but is removed in the same manner from
  101  the food before it is packaged in its finished form;
  102         2. A substance that is added to a food during the
  103  processing of the food, is converted into constituents normally
  104  present in the food, and does not significantly increase the
  105  amount of the constituents naturally present in the food; or
  106         3. A substance that is added to a food for its technical or
  107  functional effects during the processing of the food but is
  108  present in the finished food at insignificant levels and does
  109  not have a technical or functional effect in that finished food.
  110         (2) The Legislature finds that the following raw
  111  agricultural commodities are cultivated commercially in
  112  genetically engineered form:
  113         (a) Alfalfa.
  114         (b) Canola.
  115         (c) Corn.
  116         (d) Cotton.
  117         (e) Papaya.
  118         (f) Soy.
  119         (g) Sugar beets.
  120         (h) Zucchini and yellow summer squash.
  121         (3)By January 1, 2016, the department shall annually
  122  compile and publish a list of raw agricultural commodities that
  123  are cultivated commercially in genetically engineered form. The
  124  list must be based on the most current available information and
  125  include those raw agricultural commodities found by the
  126  Legislature to be cultivated commercially in genetically
  127  engineered form.
  128         (4) By January 1, 2016, a manufacturer, processor, packer,
  129  or distributor of a genetically engineered raw agricultural
  130  commodity must include a clear and conspicuous statement with
  131  the words “genetically engineered” on the front of the package
  132  or label of the commodity. If a genetically engineered raw
  133  agricultural commodity is not separately packaged or labeled, a
  134  retail food store must include such a statement on a label on
  135  the retail food store shelf or bin where the commodity is
  136  displayed for sale.
  137         (5)(a)By January 1, 2016, a manufacturer, processor,
  138  packer, or distributor of a package containing processed food:
  139         1. That is made with or derived from a genetically
  140  engineered ingredient must include a clear and conspicuous
  141  statement with the words “contains genetically engineered
  142  ingredients,” followed by the name of the genetically engineered
  143  ingredient or ingredients, on the front or back of the package.
  144         2. That is made with or derived from an ingredient that may
  145  be genetically engineered must include a clear and conspicuous
  146  statement with the words “may contain genetically engineered
  147  ingredients,” followed by the name of the possible genetically
  148  engineered ingredient or ingredients, on the front or back of
  149  the package.
  150         (b)If an ingredients list appears on the package, the
  151  statement must appear underneath the ingredients list. For a
  152  processed food containing more than one ingredient that is or
  153  may be genetically engineered, the genetically engineered
  154  ingredients listed after the statement must be listed in the
  155  same order in which they appear in the ingredients list.
  156         (6) The labeling requirements of this section do not apply
  157  to:
  158         (a) A raw agricultural commodity that, on the date it is
  159  offered for retail sale, is not on the most recent list
  160  published by the department pursuant to subsection (3).
  161         (b) A processed food that does not contain an ingredient
  162  derived from a raw agricultural commodity that, on the date the
  163  processed food is manufactured, is listed in the most recent
  164  list published by the department pursuant to subsection (3).
  165         (c) A food that consists entirely of, or is derived
  166  entirely from, an animal that has not been itself genetically
  167  engineered, regardless of whether the animal has been fed with
  168  genetically engineered food or injected with a drug that has
  169  been produced through means of genetic engineering.
  170         (d) A raw agricultural commodity or ingredient that has
  171  been grown, raised, or produced without the knowing and
  172  intentional use of genetically engineered seed or food. To claim
  173  an exemption under this paragraph from the labeling requirements
  174  of this section, the manufacturer, processor, packer,
  175  distributor, or retail food store responsible for complying with
  176  this section must obtain, from the seller who sold the raw
  177  agricultural commodity or ingredient to that person, a sworn
  178  statement that the raw agricultural commodity or ingredient has
  179  not been knowingly or intentionally genetically engineered and
  180  has been segregated from and has not been knowingly or
  181  intentionally commingled with, at any time, foods that may have
  182  been genetically engineered. In providing such a sworn
  183  statement, the seller may rely on a sworn statement from the
  184  seller’s supplier which contains such an affirmation.
  185         (e) A processed food solely because it includes one or more
  186  genetically engineered processing aids or enzymes.
  187         (f) An alcoholic beverage that is subject to regulation
  188  under chapters 561-568.
  189         (g)A processed food solely because it includes one or more
  190  genetically engineered ingredients, if:
  191         1. A single genetically engineered ingredient does not
  192  account for more than one-half of 1 percent of the total weight
  193  of the processed food; and
  194         2. The processed food does not contain more than 10
  195  genetically engineered ingredients.
  196         (h) A food that has been determined by an independent
  197  organization not to have been knowingly and intentionally
  198  produced from or commingled with genetically engineered seed or
  199  genetically engineered food, if such determination is made
  200  pursuant to a sampling and testing procedure approved for this
  201  purpose in rules adopted by the department. Such rules may not
  202  approve a sampling and testing procedure unless it is consistent
  203  with sampling and testing principles recommended by
  204  internationally recognized standards organizations.
  205         (i) A food that has been lawfully certified to be labeled,
  206  marketed, and offered for sale as organic pursuant to applicable
  207  federal organic food production laws and regulations.
  208         (j) A food that is not packaged for retail sale and that
  209  is:
  210         1. A processed food prepared and intended for immediate
  211  human consumption; or
  212         2. Served, sold, or otherwise provided in a restaurant or
  213  other food service establishment that is primarily engaged in
  214  the sale of food prepared and intended for immediate human
  215  consumption.
  216         (7) The department may impose a fine not exceeding $1,000
  217  against any manufacturer, processor, packer, distributor, or
  218  retail food store that violates the labeling requirements of
  219  this section. A single violation consists of the aggregate
  220  number of improperly labeled foods identified per inspection,
  221  but not individual improperly labeled foods. However, each day
  222  during which such violation occurs constitutes a separate
  223  offense and is subject to a separate fine.
  224         (8) An action to enjoin a violation of this section may be
  225  brought in a court of competent jurisdiction by:
  226         (a) The department; or
  227         (b) A person in the public interest if:
  228         1. The action is commenced more than 60 days after the
  229  person has given notice of the alleged violation to the
  230  department and to the alleged violator; and
  231         2. The department has not commenced an action against the
  232  alleged violator.
  233         (9) The department may adopt rules to administer this
  234  section.
  235         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.