2015 -- H 5197

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LC000186

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- GENETICALLY ENGINEERED RAW AND

PACKAGED FOOD LABELING ACT

     Introduced By: Representatives Canario, Hull, Edwards, Bennett, and Abney

     Date Introduced: January 21, 2015

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 21 of the General Laws entitled "FOOD AND DRUGS" is hereby

amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 37

GENETICALLY ENGINEERED RAW AND PACKAGED FOOD LABELING ACT

     21-37-1. Findings and declarations. – The general assembly hereby finds and declares

that:

     (1) Rhode Island consumers have the right to know whether the foods they purchase were

produced with genetic engineering so they can make informed purchasing decisions. Labeling is

necessary to ensure that Rhode Island consumers are fully and reliably informed about the

products they purchase and consume. Labels provide informed consent and prevent consumer

deception. Polls consistently show that the vast majority of the public wants to know if its food

was produced with genetic engineering, for a variety of reasons.

     (2) For multiple health, personal, economic, environmental, religious, and cultural

reasons, the general assembly finds that food produced with genetic engineering should be

labeled as such.

     (3) In the United States, there is currently no federal or Rhode Island requirement that

genetically engineered ("GE") foods be labeled. In contrast, sixty-four (64) countries, including

Japan, South Korea, China, Australia, Russia, India, the European Union member states, and

other key United States trading partners, already have laws mandating disclosure of genetically

engineered foods on food labels. In 2011, the Codex Alimentarius Commission stated that

governments are free to decide whether and how to label foods produced with genetic

engineering.

     (4) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") does not require or conduct safety

studies of genetically engineered foods. Instead, any safety consultations are voluntary, and

genetically engineered food developers may decide what information to provide to the FDA.

Market approval of genetically engineered food is based on industry research alone. There have

been no long-term or epidemiological studies in the United States that examine the safety of

human consumption of genetically engineered foods.

     (5) The genetic engineering of plants and animals often causes unintended consequences.

Manipulating genes via genetic engineering and inserting them into organisms is an imprecise

process. The results are not always predictable or controllable. Mixing plant, animal, bacterial,

and viral genes through genetic engineering in combinations that cannot occur in nature may

produce results that lead to adverse health or environmental consequences.

     (6) United States government scientists have stated that the artificial insertion of genetic

material into plants via genetic engineering can cause a variety of significant problems with plant

foods. Such genetic engineering may increase the levels of known toxicants or allergens in foods

and create new toxicants or allergens with consequent health concerns.

     (7) Independent scientists are limited from conducting safety and risk-assessment

research of genetically engineered materials used in food products due to industry restrictions on

research of those materials.

     (8) Mandatory identification of foods produced with genetic engineering can provide a

method for detecting, at a large epidemiological scale, the potential health effects of consuming

such foods.

     (9) Without mandatory disclosure, consumers of genetically engineered food may

unknowingly violate their dietary and/or religious beliefs.

     (10) Numerous foreign markets with restrictions on foods produced with genetic

engineering have restricted imports of United States crops due to concerns about genetic

engineering. Some foreign markets are choosing to purchase agricultural products from countries

other than the United States because genetically engineered crops are not identified in the United

States, which makes it impossible for buyers to determine what does or does not meet their

national labeling laws or restrictions and thus renders United States products less desirable.

     (11) Mandatory identification of foods produced with genetic engineering can be a

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critical method of preserving the economic value of exports or domestically sensitive markets

with restrictions on, or prohibitions against, genetic engineering.

     (12) Preserving the identity, quality, and reliability of Rhode Island's agricultural

products and exports is critical to the state's economic well-being.

     (13) The organic food industry is growing rapidly, with 2.7 billion dollars in growth in

2012. While total United States food sales grew at a rate of three point seven percent (3.7%), the

organic food industry grew at a rate of ten point two percent (10.2%) in 2012, accounting for 31.5

billion dollars in sales. Sales of organic fruits and vegetables account for forty-three percent

(43%) of those new dollars, thirty-four point eight percent (34.8%) of total organic food sales,

and ten point three percent (10.3%) of all United States fruit and vegetable sales. Organic dairy

grew at a rate of seven point one percent (7.1%) in 2012 and constitutes over six percent (6%) of

the total United States dairy market. Trade industry data shows that, over the long term, organic

farming is more profitable and economically secure than conventional farming. Organic farmers

are prohibited from using genetically engineered seeds. Nonetheless, organic crops are routinely

threatened with transgenic contamination from neighboring fields of genetically engineered

crops. The risk of contamination can erode public confidence in organic products, significantly

undermining the job-creating, economy-boosting growth of the organic market. Requiring the

labeling of foods produced through genetic engineering will help protect organics nationwide by

increasing identification of genetically engineered foods through the food production process,

thereby reducing the risk of contamination.

     (14) Foods identified as non-genetically engineered constitute the fastest growing market

segment in agriculture. However, only a small portion of the food industry participates in

voluntary labeling of foods claimed not to be the product of genetic engineering. Nor are there

consistent standards for such labeling, or for enforcement of voluntary labels. As such, voluntary

labels are insufficient to provide consumers with adequate information on whether or not the food

they are purchasing was produced with genetic engineering, and thus may be misleading.

     (15) Requiring that foods produced through genetic engineering be labeled as such will

create additional market opportunities for producers who are not certified as organic and whose

products are not produced through genetic engineering. Such additional market opportunities will

also contribute to vibrant and diversified agricultural communities.

     (16) The cultivation of genetically engineered crops can have serious effects on the

environment. For example, in 2013, ninety-three percent (93%) of all soy grown in the United

States was engineered to be herbicide resistant. In fact, the vast majority of genetically engineered

crops are designed to withstand herbicides, and therefore promote indiscriminate herbicide use.

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As a result, genetically engineered herbicide-resistant crops have caused five hundred twenty

seven million pounds (527,000,000 lbs.) of additional herbicides to be applied to the nation's

farmland. These toxic herbicides damage the vitality and quality of our soil, harm wildlife,

contaminate our drinking water, and pose health risks to consumers and farm workers.

     (17) Because of the consequent massive increase in the use of herbicides, herbicide-

resistant weeds have developed and flourished, infesting farm fields and roadsides, complicating

weed control for farmers, and causing farmers to resort to more and increasingly toxic herbicides.

Additionally, insect-resistant genetically engineered crops pose a high risk of fostering rapid

evolution of pests resistant to organic pesticides, to the detriment of organic farmers, and they

also facilitate agriculturally and environmentally harmful monocultures, such as growing corn

continuously on the same field year after year.

     (18) The people of Rhode Island should have the choice to avoid purchasing foods

produced in ways that can lead to such environmental harm.

     (19) Because neither the FDA nor Congress requires the labeling of food produced with

genetic engineering, the state should require foods produced with genetic engineering to be

labeled as such in order to serve the interests of the state, prevent consumer deception, prevent

potential risks to human health, promote food safety, protect cultural and religious practices,

protect the environment, and promote economic development.

     21-37-2. Declaration of intent and purpose. – (a) The intent of this chapter is to

establish a consistent and enforceable standard for labeling foods produced using genetic

engineering, and thus provide the people of Rhode Island with knowledge of how their food is

produced.

     (b) The purposes of this chapter are to:

     (1) Promote food safety and protect public health by enabling consumers to avoid

potential risks associated with genetically engineered foods, and serve as a risk management tool

enabling consumers, physicians, and scientists to identify unintended health effects resulting from

consumption of genetically engineered foods;

     (2) Assist consumers who are concerned about the potential effects of genetic engineering

on the environment to make informed purchasing decisions;

     (3) Reduce and prevent consumer confusion and deception and promote the disclosure of

factual information on food labels to allow consumers to make informed decisions;

     (4) Create and protect non-genetically engineered markets and enable consumers to make

informed purchasing decisions; and

     (5) Provide consumers with data from which they may make informed decisions for

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personal, religious, moral, cultural, or ethical reasons.

     (c) This chapter shall be liberally construed to fulfill these purposes.

     21-37-3. Definitions. – As used in this chapter:

     (1) "Agriculture" means the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing

crops, and raising livestock or fish, and, in varying degrees, the preparation and marketing of the

resulting products.

     (2) "Cultivated commercially" means that agricultural commodities are grown or raised in

the course of business or trade and sold within the United States.

     (3) "Department" means the Rhode Island department of health.

     (4) "Raw food" or "raw agricultural commodity" means any food in its raw or natural

state, including all fruits that are washed, colored, or otherwise treated in their unpeeled, natural

form prior to marketing.

     (5) "Packaged food" means any food offered for retail sale in the state, other than raw

food and food served, sold, or provided ready to eat in any bake sale, restaurant, or cafeteria, and

that is otherwise subject to the provisions of title 21 of the general laws prohibiting misbranding.

     (6) "Genetically engineered" means produced from an organism or organisms in which

the genetic material has been changed through the application of:

     (i) In vitro nucleic acid techniques which include, but are not limited to, recombinant

deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA), direct injection of nucleic acid into cells

or organelles, encapsulation, gene deletion, and doubling; or

     (ii) Methods of fusing cells beyond the taxonomic family that overcome natural

physiological, reproductive, or recombination barriers, and that are not techniques used in

traditional breeding and selection such as conjugation, transduction, and hybridization.

     For purposes of this definition, "in vitro nucleic acid techniques" include, but are not

limited to, recombinant DNA or RNA techniques that use vector systems, and techniques

involving the direct introduction into the organisms of hereditary materials prepared outside the

organisms such as biolistics, microinjection, macro-injection, chemoporation, electroporation,

microencapsulation, and liposome fusion.

     (7) As used in this chapter, except as otherwise provided, terms shall have the meaning

given to them in the general laws, except that the term "food" shall include food only for human

consumption and not any food for consumption by animals.

     21-37-4. Labeling of genetically engineered raw and packaged foods. -- Commencing

January 1, 2016, all raw food and packaged food that is entirely or partially produced with genetic

engineering must be labeled in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and is otherwise

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misbranded if that fact is not disclosed.

     21-37-5. Means of labeling. – (a) In the case of raw food packaged for retail sale, the

manufacturer shall include the words "genetically engineered" clearly and conspicuously on the

front or back of the package of such commodity. In the case of raw agricultural commodities that

are not separately packaged or labeled, the retailer shall place a clear and conspicuous label on

the retail store shelf or bin in which such commodity is displayed for sale.

     (b) To make clear who is responsible for compliance with the requirements of this

section, in the case of raw food, the retailer is responsible only for point of purchase shelf

labeling. The supplier must label each container used for packaging, holding, and/or transporting

any raw food produced with genetic engineering that is delivered directly to Rhode Island

retailers.

     (c) In the case of any packaged food containing some products of genetic engineering, the

manufacturer must label the product in clear and conspicuous language on the front and back of

the package of such food product with the words "produced with genetic engineering" or

"partially produced with genetic engineering."

     (d) This chapter does not require either the listing or identification of any ingredient or

ingredients that were genetically engineered or that the term "genetically engineered" be placed

immediately preceding any common name or primary product descriptor of a food.

     21-37-6. Enforcement. – (a) The attorney general may bring an action to enjoin a

violation of this chapter in any court of competent jurisdiction.

     (b) Any injured resident of this state may, after giving notice of the alleged violation to

the attorney general and the alleged violator and waiting sixty (60) days, bring an action to enjoin

a violation of this chapter by a manufacturer or retailer in any court of competent jurisdiction.

The court may, in such an action, award to a resident who is a prevailing plaintiff reasonable

attorneys' fees and costs incurred in investigating and prosecuting the action, but the court may

not award any monetary damages.

     (c) No person may be subject to an injunction or responsible for payment of prevailing

party attorneys' fees for failure to label any food if:

     (1) In the case of packaged food, the materials produced through genetic engineering do

not account for more than nine tenths of one percent (0.9%) of the total weight of the packaged

food; or

     (2) The food has not been produced with the knowing or intentional use of genetic

engineering.

     (d) For purposes of this chapter, food will be considered not to have been produced with

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the knowing or intentional use of genetic engineering if:

     (1) Such food is lawfully certified to be labeled, marketed, and offered for sale as

"organic" pursuant to the federal Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, 7 U.S.C. §§ 6501 et

seq., which already prohibits genetic engineering;

     (2) In the case of a manufacturer or retailer obligated to label any food under this chapter,

if such entity has obtained from whoever sold that food to them a sworn statement that the food

has not been knowingly or intentionally genetically engineered and has been segregated from, and

not knowingly or intentionally commingled with, foods that may have been genetically

engineered at any time. In providing such a sworn statement, a manufacturer or retailer may rely

on a sworn statement from a supplier that contains such an affirmation; or

     (3) An independent organization has determine that the food has not been knowingly or

intentionally genetically engineered and has been segregated from, and not knowingly or

intentionally comingled with, foods that may have been genetically engineered at any time, if

such a determination has been made pursuant to a sampling and testing procedure:

     (i) Consistent with sampling and testing principles recommended by internationally

recognized standards organizations; and

     (ii) Which does not rely on testing processed foods in which no DNA is detectable.

     (e) Unless the retailer is also the producer or the manufacturer of the food and sells the

food under a brand it owns, no act or omission or any retailer is a violation of this chapter except

for knowing and willful failure to provide point of purchase labeling for unpackaged raw

agricultural commodities. In any action in which it is alleged that a retailer has violated the

provisions of this section, it shall be a defense that such retailer reasonable relied on:

     (1) Any disclosure whether a food was produced through genetic engineering contained

in the bill of sale or invoice provided by the wholesaler or distributor; or

     (2) A lack of such disclosure.

     (f) No action may be brought against any farmer for any violation of any provision of this

chapter unless such farmer is also a retailer or manufacturer, but any farmer submitting a false

sworn statement under § 21-37-6(d) shall be subject to the general laws of the state pertaining to

perjury.

     (g) The director of the department of health shall prescribe, enact, and enforce rules

necessary to implement this chapter. The director is not authorized to exempt from the

requirements of § 21-37-4, any food product that is made subject to those requirements by the

provisions of this chapter. The director may by regulation provide that a person may be subject to

an injunction and prevailing party attorneys' fees under this chapter for failure to label packaged

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food described in §21-37-6(c)(1) at such time as the director may determine that the commercial

availability of relevant materials not produced with genetic engineering make it economically and

commercially practicable to apply the labeling requirements of this chapter to such packaged

food.

     21-37-7. Severability. -- If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person

or circumstance is held invalid with respect to any particular raw or packaged food, situation, or

entity, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this chapter which can be

given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this

chapter are severable.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- GENETICALLY ENGINEERED RAW AND

PACKAGED FOOD LABELING ACT

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     This act would require the labeling of all raw and packaged food that is entirely or

partially produced with genetic engineering, commencing January 1, 2016.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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