Bill Text: FL S1700 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-03-11 - Died in Agriculture [S1700 Detail]
Download: Florida-2016-S1700-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2016 SB 1700
By Senator Sachs
34-01648-16 20161700__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to labeling of genetically engineered
3 foods; creating s. 500.92, F.S.; providing
4 definitions; providing mandatory labeling requirements
5 for genetically engineered raw foods and processed
6 foods made with or derived from genetically engineered
7 ingredients by a specified date; exempting specified
8 foods, commodities, ingredients, and other substances
9 from the labeling requirements; directing the
10 Department of Health to adopt rules; providing for
11 enforcement of the labeling requirements; providing
12 administrative and civil remedies and penalties;
13 providing legislative intent with regard to such
14 penalties; providing for injunctive relief actions;
15 requiring the court to award costs and fees under
16 certain circumstances; specifying injunctive relief
17 actions do not preclude civil actions for damages;
18 providing an effective date.
19
20 WHEREAS, Florida has the right to protect the liberty of
21 its citizens to be free to make the most fundamental of life
22 choices of what to eat and put on their tables to feed their
23 families, and
24 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that consumers should have
25 the right to know whether the foods they purchase contain
26 genetically engineered material, and
27 WHEREAS, without mandatory labeling of genetically
28 engineered foods, consumers may unknowingly violate their own
29 dietary or religious principles, and
30 WHEREAS, the lack of labeling denies health professionals
31 the ability to trace potential toxic or allergic reactions to,
32 and other adverse health effects from, genetically engineered
33 food, and
34 WHEREAS, labeling requirements for genetically engineered
35 foods are needed to facilitate both the withdrawal of products
36 where unforeseen adverse effects on human health, animal health,
37 or the environment, including ecosystems, are established, and
38 the targeting of monitoring to examine potential effects on
39 health and the environment, and
40 WHEREAS, many medical and public health groups still have
41 questions regarding the potential long-term impact of
42 genetically engineered foods on human health and the
43 environment, and
44 WHEREAS, many medical and public health groups, including,
45 but not limited to, the American College of Physicians, American
46 Public Health Association, American Nurses Association, British
47 Medical Association, Australian Medical Association, Irish
48 Medical Organization, and German Medical Association, have
49 passed resolutions or otherwise supported the mandatory labeling
50 of genetically engineered foods to facilitate further health
51 research, and
52 WHEREAS, sixty-four developed or developing nations have
53 banned, restricted, or required labeling of products that are
54 genetically engineered, and
55 WHEREAS, Floridians should have the same freedom to make
56 informed choices about the food they eat as consumers or grow
57 and offer to market as farmers, and
58 WHEREAS, no international agreement prohibits the mandatory
59 labeling of genetically engineered foods, and
60 WHEREAS, the cultivation of genetically engineered crops
61 can negatively impact the environment, in some cases
62 necessitating the use of increasingly toxic herbicides that can
63 damage agricultural areas, impair drinking water, and pose
64 health risks to consumers and farmworkers, and
65 WHEREAS, consumers should have the choice to avoid
66 purchasing foods that they believe cause adverse health and
67 environmental effects, and
68 WHEREAS, currently, there is no federal requirement
69 mandating disclosure of genetically engineered foods on food
70 labels, NOW, THEREFORE,
71
72 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
73
74 Section 1. Section 500.92, Florida Statutes, is created to
75 read:
76 500.92 Genetically engineered foods.—
77 (1) As used in this section, the term:
78 (a) “Department” means the Department of Health.
79 (b) “Food facility” means an operation that stores,
80 prepares, packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food
81 for human consumption at the retail level, including an
82 operation where food is consumed on or off the premises,
83 regardless of whether there is a charge for the food.
84 (c) “Genetically engineered” means any food that consists
85 of, is composed of, contains, or is produced from an organism or
86 organisms in which the genetic material has been changed,
87 commonly referred to as a “genetically modified organism” or
88 “GMO,” through the application of:
89 1. In vitro nucleic acid techniques, including recombinant
90 deoxyribonucleic acid techniques and the direct injection of
91 nucleic acid into cells or organelles. Such techniques include,
92 but are not limited to, recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid or
93 ribonucleic acid techniques that use vector systems and
94 techniques involving the direct introduction into the organisms
95 of hereditary material prepared outside the organisms, such as
96 microinjection, macroinjection, chemoporation, electroporation,
97 microencapsulation, and liposome fusion; or
98 2. Fusion of cells, including protoplast fusion, or
99 hybridization techniques that overcome natural physiological,
100 reproductive, or recombination barriers, where the donor cells
101 or protoplasts do not fall within the same taxonomic family, in
102 a way that does not occur by natural multiplication or natural
103 recombination.
104
105 The term does not include the centuries-old hybridization
106 technique used by farmers and breeders that relied on nature or
107 similar plant-to-plant or similar animal-to-animal selective
108 breeding.
109 (d) “Ingredient” means any substance that is used in the
110 manufacture, or contained in the final form, of a processed
111 food.
112 (e) “Processed food” means any food other than a raw
113 agricultural commodity and includes any food produced from a raw
114 agricultural commodity that has been subject to processing, such
115 as canning, smoking, pressing, cooking, freezing, dehydration,
116 fermentation, or milling.
117 (2) Beginning January 1, 2018:
118 (a) Any genetically engineered raw food that is offered for
119 retail sale must include a clear and conspicuous statement with
120 the words “genetically engineered” on the front package or label
121 of any such commodity. For such a commodity that is not
122 separately packaged or labeled, the statement must appear on a
123 label on the retail store shelf or bin where the commodity is
124 displayed for sale.
125 (b) Any package offered for retail sale containing
126 processed food that is made with or derived from any genetically
127 engineered ingredient or is produced from a source that contains
128 recombinant bovine growth hormone must include a clear and
129 conspicuous statement on the front or back of the package with
130 the words “contains genetically engineered ingredients,”
131 followed by the name of the genetically engineered ingredient or
132 ingredients. If an ingredients list appears on the package, the
133 statement must appear underneath the ingredients list. For a
134 processed food containing more than one genetically engineered
135 ingredient or recombinant bovine growth hormone, the genetically
136 engineered ingredients listed after the statement must be listed
137 in the same order in which they appear in the full ingredients
138 list.
139 (c) In lieu of compliance with paragraph (b), any package
140 containing processed food that is made with or derived from any
141 ingredient that may be genetically engineered or is produced
142 from a source that contains recombinant bovine growth hormone
143 must include a clear and conspicuous statement on the front or
144 back of the package with the words “may contain genetically
145 engineered ingredients,” followed by the name of the genetically
146 engineered ingredient or ingredients. If an ingredients list
147 appears on the package, the statement must appear underneath the
148 ingredients list. For a processed food containing more than one
149 ingredient that may be genetically engineered, the genetically
150 engineered ingredients listed after the statement must be listed
151 in the same order in which they appear in the full ingredients
152 list.
153 (d) Except as set forth in paragraph (e), a food produced
154 entirely or in part from genetic engineering may not be labeled
155 on the package, in signage, or in advertising as “natural” or
156 with any words of similar import.
157 (e) This subsection does not apply to:
158 1. Food consisting entirely of, or derived entirely from,
159 an animal that has not itself been genetically engineered and
160 that has not been fed a feed containing more than 1.5 percent
161 genetically engineered ingredients.
162 2. A raw agricultural commodity or ingredient that has been
163 grown, raised, or produced without the knowing and intentional
164 use of genetically engineered seed or food. The person
165 responsible for complying with this section must obtain, from
166 whoever sold the commodity or ingredient to such person, a sworn
167 statement that the commodity or ingredient has not been
168 knowingly or intentionally genetically engineered and has been
169 segregated from, and not been knowingly or intentionally
170 commingled with, goods that may have been genetically engineered
171 at any time. The sworn statement must be notarized and include a
172 written declaration stating that such statement is made under
173 the penalties of perjury and fraud. In providing such a sworn
174 statement, a person may rely on a sworn statement from his or
175 her own supplier that contains such an affirmation.
176 3. An alcoholic beverage that is subject to regulation
177 under chapters 561 through 568.
178 4. A processed food that would be subject to this section
179 solely because it includes one or more genetically engineered
180 ingredients, if a single genetically engineered ingredient does
181 not account for more than one-half of 1 percent of the total
182 weight of the processed food.
183 5. Any food not knowingly and intentionally produced from
184 or commingled with genetically engineered seed or genetically
185 engineered food, as determined by an independent organization,
186 such as the Non-GMO Project, if such a determination has been
187 made pursuant to a sampling and testing procedure approved for
188 this purpose in rules adopted by the department.
189 6. Food that has been lawfully certified to be labeled,
190 marketed, and offered for sale as organic pursuant to applicable
191 federal organic food production laws and regulations.
192 7. Food that is not packaged for retail sale and that is:
193 a. A processed food prepared and intended for immediate
194 human consumption;
195 b. Served, sold, or otherwise provided in a restaurant or
196 other food facility that is primarily engaged in the sale of
197 food prepared and intended for immediate human consumption; or
198 c. Medical food, as defined in 21 U.S.C. s. 360ee(b)(3).
199 (3)(a) The department shall:
200 1. Adopt rules to administer this section.
201 2. Select an independent nonprofit organization to approve
202 a sampling and testing procedure consistent with sampling and
203 testing principles recommended and developed by independent
204 nonprofit organizations with the highest internationally
205 recognized standards of genetically engineered labeling
206 requirements. The organization shall be chosen on a 2-year basis
207 by agency rule.
208 3. Create an educational pamphlet regarding the
209 requirements of this section for distribution to farmers in the
210 state.
211 4. Prominently display on its website information
212 regarding:
213 a. Information regarding genetically engineered foods and
214 crops as well as organic foods and crops.
215 b. Standards for nongenetically engineered products
216 developed by independent nonprofit organizations with the
217 highest internationally recognized standards of genetically
218 engineered labeling requirements.
219 c. Penalties imposed under this subsection and any pending
220 cases.
221 (b) After exhausting administrative remedies under chapter
222 120, the department may bring an action in a court of competent
223 jurisdiction to enjoin a person or an entity violating this
224 section.
225 (c) The department may assess a civil penalty against a
226 person or an entity violating this section in an amount not to
227 exceed $5,000 per seed and $1,000 per retail package intended to
228 be sold by a retailer. Each day of violation is considered a
229 separate violation. Minimum penalties per day will be based on 3
230 percent of the annual profit of the violating entity. It is the
231 intent of the Legislature that such penalties are imposed to
232 prevent violations of this section and that the cost of such
233 penalties is not passed on to consumers as the cost of doing
234 business.
235 (d) Any political subdivision or municipality of the state
236 or a citizen of the state may maintain an action for injunctive
237 relief against:
238 1. The department to compel it to enforce this section or
239 any rules adopted thereunder. As a condition precedent to the
240 institution of an action pursuant to this subparagraph, the
241 complaining party must first file with the department a verified
242 complaint setting forth the facts upon which the complaint is
243 based and the manner in which the complaining party is affected.
244 Upon receipt of a complaint, the department must transmit,
245 within 7 days, by registered or certified mail, a copy of the
246 complaint to those parties charged with violating this section
247 or rules adopted thereunder. The department shall have 30 days
248 after the receipt of a complaint to take appropriate action. If
249 such action is not taken within the time prescribed, the
250 complaining party may institute the judicial proceedings
251 authorized in this subparagraph. However, a complainant’s
252 failure to comply with this subparagraph shall does not bar an
253 action for a temporary restraining order to prevent immediate
254 and irreparable harm from the conduct or activity complained of.
255 In any action instituted pursuant to this subparagraph, the
256 court, in the interest of justice, may add the department as a
257 party defendant.
258 2. Any person, natural or corporate, or governmental agency
259 or authority to enjoin such persons, agencies, or authorities
260 from violating this section or rules adopted thereunder.
261 (e) In any successful action to enforce a provision of this
262 section, the court shall award the prevailing party, other than
263 the state, reasonable costs and attorney fees.
264 (f) Nothing in paragraph (d) shall preclude any person from
265 bringing civil action for damages or personal injury relating to
266 violations of this section.
267 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.
