MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Eubanks
AN ACT TO AMEND TO PROHIBIT THE ADMINISTRATION OR INOCULATION OF ANY VACCINE DEVELOPED USING MESSENGER RIBONUCLEIC ACID (MRNA) TECHNOLOGY FOR USE IN ANY LIVESTOCK, AQUACULTURAL SPECIMEN, POULTRY, PRODUCE OR OTHER FOOD PRODUCT INTENDED FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION IN THIS STATE; TO PROVIDE THAT A VIOLATION CONSTITUTES A MISDEMEANOR; TO AMEND SECTIONS 75-35-3 AND 75-33-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DEFINE THE TERM MESSENGER RIBONUCLEIC ACID (MRNA) VACCINE; TO AMEND SECTION 75-35-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PRESCRIBE DUTIES TO LIVESTOCK AND MEAT INSPECTORS APPOINTED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE; TO AMEND SECTION 75-35-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT NOTHING PROHIBITS A PERSON FROM LABELING MEAT OR A MEAT PRODUCT AS "MRNA FREE" IF THE ANIMALS FROM WHICH THE MEAT OR MEAT PRODUCT WAS DERIVED WERE NOT ADMINISTERED AN MRNA VACCINE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no person shall provide or administer a vaccine developed using messenger ribonucleic acid technology for use in any livestock, aquacultural specimen, poultry, produce or other food product intended for human consumption in this state.
(2) Any person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
SECTION 2. Section 75-35-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-3. As used in this chapter, except as otherwise specified, the following terms shall have the meanings stated below:
(a) The term "commissioner" means the "commissioner of agriculture and commerce of the State of Mississippi," or his duly authorized deputies.
(b) The term "firm" means any partnership, association, or other unincorporated business organization.
(c) The term "meat broker" means any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of buying or selling carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat, or meat-food products of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines on commission, or otherwise negotiating purchases or sales of such item or products other than for his own account or as an employee of another person, firm, or corporation.
(d) The term "renderer" means any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of rendering carcasses, or parts or products of the carcasses, of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines, except rendering conducted under inspection under this article.
(e) The term "animal food manufacturer" means any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of manufacturing or processing animal food derived wholly or in part from carcasses or parts or products of the carcasses, of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines.
(f) The term "unfit for human food" means as defined in the "Meat, Meat-Food and Poultry Regulation and Inspection Law of 1960," appearing in subsection (c) of Section 75-33-3, Mississippi Code of 1972.
(g) The term "meat-food product" means any product capable of use as human food which is made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass of any cattle, sheep, swine, or goats, excepting products which contain meat or other portions of such carcasses only in a relatively small proportion or historically have not been considered by consumers as products of the meat-food industry, and which are exempted from definition as a meat-food product by the commissioner under such conditions as he may prescribe to assure that the meat or other portions of such carcasses contained in such product are not adulterated and that such products are not represented as meat-food products. This term as applied to food products of equines shall have a meaning comparable to that provided in this paragraph with respect to cattle, sheep, swine, and goats.
(h) The term "capable of use as human food" shall apply to any carcass, or part or product of a carcass, of any animal, unless it is denatured or otherwise identified as required by regulations prescribed by the commissioner to deter its use as human food, or it is naturally inedible by humans.
(i) The term "prepare" means slaughtered, canned, salted, rendered, boned, cut up, or otherwise manufactured or processed.
(j) The term "adulterated" shall apply to any carcass, part thereof, meat or meat-food product under one or more of the following circumstances:
(1) If it bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health; but in case the substance is not an added substance, such article shall not be considered adulterated under this clause if the quantity of such substance in or on such item or product does not ordinarily render it injurious to health;
(2) (A) If it bears or contains (by reason of administration of any substance to the live animal or otherwise) any added poisonous or added deleterious substance (other than one which is (i) a pesticide chemical in or on a raw agricultural commodity; (ii) a food additive; or (iii) a color additive) which may, in the judgment of the commissioner, make such item or product unfit for human food;
(B) If it is, in whole or in part, a raw agricultural commodity and such commodity bears or contains a pesticide chemical which is unsafe within the meaning of Section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended;
(C) If it bears or contains any food additive which is unsafe within the meaning of Section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended;
(D) If it bears or contains any color additive which is unsafe within the meaning of Section 706 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act: provided, that an article which is not adulterated under clause (B), (C), or (D) shall nevertheless be deemed adulterated if use of the pesticide chemical, food additive, or color additive in or on such item or product is prohibited by regulations of the commissioner in establishments at which inspection is maintained under this article;
(3) If it consists, in whole or in part, of any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance or is for any other reason unsound, unhealthful, unwholesome, or otherwise unfit for human food;
(4) If it has been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health;
(5) If it is, in whole or in part, the product of an animal which has died otherwise than by slaughter; or which was diseased or was in a dying condition at the time of slaughter;
(6) If its container is composed, in whole or in part, of any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render the contents injurious to health;
(7) If it has been intentionally subjected to radiation, unless the use of the radiation was in conformity with a regulation or exemption in effect pursuant to Section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act;
(8) If any valuable constituent has been, in whole or in part, omitted or abstracted therefrom; or if any substance has been substituted, wholly or in part therefor; or if damage or inferiority has been concealed in any manner; or if any substance has been added thereto or mixed or packed therewith so as to increase its bulk or weight, or reduce its quality or strength, or make it appear better or of greater value than it is; or
(9) If it is margarine containing animal fat and any of the raw material used therein consisted, in whole or in part, of any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance.
(k) The term "misbranded" shall apply to any carcass, part thereof, meat or meat-food product under one or more of the following circumstances:
(1) If its labeling is false or misleading in any particular;
(2) If it is offered for sale under the name of another food;
(3) If it is an imitation of another food, unless its label bears, in type of uniform size and prominence, the word "imitation" and immediately thereafter, the name of the food imitated;
(4) If its container is so made, formed, or filled as to be misleading;
(5) If in a package or other container unless it bears a label showing (A) the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor; and (B) an accurate statement of the quantity of the contents in terms of weight, measure, or numerical count; provided, that under clause (B) of this subparagraph (5), reasonable variations may be permitted, and exemptions as to small packages may be established, by regulations prescribed by the commissioner.
(6) If any word, statement, or other information required by or under authority of this chapter to appear on the label or other labeling is not prominently placed thereon with such conspicuousness (as compared with other words, statements, designs, or devices, in the labeling) and in such terms as to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase and use;
(7) If it purports to be or is represented as a food for which a definition standard of identity or composition has been prescribed by regulations of the commissioner under Section 75-35-15 unless (A) it conforms to such definition and standard, and (B) its label bears the name of the food specified in the definition and standard and, insofar as may be required by such regulations, the common names of optional ingredients (other than spices, flavoring, and coloring) present in such food;
(8) If it purports to be or is represented as a food for which a standard or standards of fill of container have been prescribed by regulations of the commissioner under Section 75-35-15, and it falls below the standard of fill of container applicable thereto, unless its label bears, in such manner and form as such regulations specify, a statement that it falls below such standard;
(9) If it is not subject to the provisions of subparagraph (7), unless its label bears (A) the common or usual name of the food, if any there be, and (B) in case it is fabricated from two (2) or more ingredients, the common or usual name of each such ingredient; except that spices, flavorings, and colorings may, when authorized by the commissioner, be designated as spices, flavorings, and colorings without naming each: provided, that to the extent that compliance with the requirements of clause (B) of this subparagraph (9) is impracticable, or results in deception or unfair competition, exemptions shall be established by regulations promulgated by the commissioner;
(10) If it purports to be or is represented for special dietary uses, unless its label bears such information concerning its vitamin, mineral, and other dietary properties as the commissioner, after consultation with the secretary of agriculture of the United States, determines to be, and by regulations prescribes as, necessary in order fully to inform purchasers as to its value for such uses;
(11) If it bears or contains any artificial flavoring, artificial coloring, or chemical preservative, unless it bears labeling stating that fact: provided, that, to the extent that compliance with the requirements of this subparagraph (11) is impracticable, exemptions shall be established by regulations promulgated by the commissioner; or
(12) If it fails to bear, directly thereon or on its container, as the commissioner may by regulations prescribe, the inspection legend and, unrestricted by any of the foregoing, such other information as the commissioner may require in such regulations to assure that it will not have false or misleading labeling and that the public will be informed of the manner of handling required to maintain the item or product in a wholesome condition.
(l) The term "label" means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter upon the immediate container (not including package liners) of any item or product.
(m) The term "labeling" means all labels and other written, printed, or graphic matter (1) upon any item or product or any of its containers or wrappers, or (2) accompanying such item or product.
(n) The term "Federal Meat Inspection Act" means the act so entitled approved March 4, 1907 (34 Stat 1260), as amended by the Wholesome Meat Act (8 Stat 584).
(o) The term "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act" means the act so entitled, approved June 25, 1938 (52 Stat 1040), and acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto.
(p) The term "pesticide chemical," "food additive," "color additive" and "raw agricultural commodity" shall have the same meanings for purposes of this chapter as under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
(q) The term "official mark" means the official inspection legend or any other symbol prescribed by regulations of the commissioner to identify the status of any product or animal under this chapter.
(r) The term "official inspection legend" means any symbol prescribed by regulations of the commissioner showing that an item or product was inspected and passed in accordance with this chapter.
(s) The term "official certificate" means any certificate prescribed by regulations of the commissioner for issuance by an inspector or other person performing official functions under this chapter.
(t) The term "official device" means any device prescribed or authorized by the commissioner for use in applying any official mark.
(u) The term "mRNA vaccine or vaccine material" means a substance to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against disease by introducing messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) that corresponds to a viral protein.
SECTION 3. Section 75-35-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-7. ( * * *1) For the purpose of preventing the
use in intrastate commerce, as hereinafter provided, of meat and meat food
products which are adulterated, the commissioner shall cause to be made, by
inspectors appointed for that purpose, an examination and inspection of all
cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, and other equine before they shall
be allowed to enter into any slaughtering, packing, meat canning, rendering, or
similar establishment in this state in which slaughtering and preparation of
meat and meat food products of such animals are conducted; and all cattle,
sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, and other equine found on such inspection
to show symptoms of disease shall be set apart and slaughtered separately from
all other cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equine, and when
so slaughtered, the carcasses of said cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses,
mules, or other equine shall be subject to a careful examination and
inspection, all as provided by the rules and regulations to be prescribed by
the commissioner as herein provided for.
( * * *2) For the purpose of preventing the
inhumane slaughtering of livestock, the commissioner shall cause to be made, by
inspectors appointed for that purpose, an examination and inspection of the
method by which cattle, sheep, swine, ratites, nontraditional livestock,
rabbits, goats, horses, mules and other equine are slaughtered and handled in
connection with slaughter in the slaughtering establishments inspected under
this article. The commissioner may refuse to provide inspection to a new
slaughtering establishment or may cause inspection to be suspended temporarily
at a slaughtering establishment if the commissioner finds that any cattle,
sheep, swine, ratites, nontraditional livestock, rabbits, goats, horses, mules
or other equine have been slaughtered or handled in connection with slaughter
at such establishment by any method not in accordance with Sections 75-35-21(d)
and 75-35-8 until the establishment furnishes assurances satisfactory to the
commissioner that all slaughtering and handling in connection with slaughter of
livestock shall be in accordance with such a method.
(3) The commissioner shall appoint inspectors who are authorized to:
(a) Order tests of animals within this state or imported into this state for the purpose of protecting the health of animals in this state;
(b) Recommend vaccinations of livestock, as defined in Section 69-29-103, within this state or imported into this state for the purpose of protecting the health of livestock in this state; and
(c) Order vaccinations of nonlivestock animals within this state or imported into this state for the purpose of protecting the health of nonlivestock animals in this state.
SECTION 4. Section 75-35-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-35-15. (1) When any meat or meat food product has been inspected as hereinbefore provided and marked "Mississippi inspected and passed" or appropriate marking shall be placed or packed in any can, pot, tin, canvas, or other receptacle or covering in any establishment where inspection under the provisions of this chapter is maintained, the person, firm, or corporation preparing said product shall cause a label to be attached to said can, pot, tin, canvas, or other receptacle or covering, under supervision of an inspector, which label shall state that the contents thereof have been "Mississippi inspected and passed" or appropriate marking under the provisions of this chapter, and no inspection and examination of meat or meat food products deposited or enclosed in cans, tins, pots, canvas, or other receptacle or covering in any establishment where inspection under the provisions of this chapter is maintained shall be deemed to be complete until such meat or meat food products have been sealed or enclosed in said can, tin, pot, canvas, or other receptacle or covering under the supervision of an inspector.
(2) All carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat and meat food products inspected at any establishment under the authority of this chapter and found to be not adulterated, shall at the time they leave the establishment bear, in distinctly legible form, directly thereon or on their containers, as the commissioner may require, the information required under paragraph (k) of Section 75-35-3.
(3) The commissioner, whenever he determines such action is necessary for the protection of the public, may prescribe:
(a) The styles and sizes of type to be used with respect to material required to be incorporated in labeling to avoid false or misleading labeling of any products or animals subject to this article or Article 3 of this chapter; and
(b) Definitions and standards of identity or composition for items subject to this article and standards of fill of container for such products not inconsistent with any such standards established under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, and there shall be consultation between the commissioner and the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States prior to the issuance of such standards to avoid inconsistency between such standards and the federal standards.
(4) No item or product subject to this article shall be sold or offered for sale by any person, firm, or corporation, under any name or other marking or labeling which is false or misleading, or in any container of a misleading form or size, but established trade names and other marking and labeling and containers which are not false or misleading and which are approved by the commissioner, are permitted. A food product that contains cultured animal tissue produced from animal cell cultures outside of the organism from which it is derived shall not be labeled as meat or a meat food product. A plant-based or insect-based food product shall not be labeled as meat or a meat food product.
(5) If the commissioner has reason to believe that any marking or labeling or the size or form of any container in use or proposed for use with respect to any item subject to this article is false or misleading in any particular, he may direct that such use be withheld unless the marking, labeling, or container is modified in such manner as he may prescribe so that it will not be false or misleading. If the person, firm, or corporation using or proposing to use the marking, labeling or container does not accept the determination of the commissioner, such person, firm, or corporation may request a hearing, but the use of the marking, labeling, or container shall, if the commissioner so directs, be withheld pending hearing and final determination by the commissioner. Any party aggrieved by such final determination may, within thirty (30) days after receipt of notice of such final determination, effect an appeal therefrom to the chancery court of the county in which such party resides or in which the principal place of his business is domiciled; and, on appeal, such chancery court shall affirm, modify, or set aside the commissioner's final determination.
(6) Nothing in this section or any other law prohibits a person from labeling meat or a meat product as "mRNA free" or any similar designation, if the animals from which the meat or meat product was derived were not administered a mRNA vaccine or
vaccine material.
SECTION 5. Section 75-33-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-33-3. (1) For the purpose of this article, the words and terms used herein shall have ascribed to them the following meanings:
(a) The word "person" shall include individuals, partnerships, corporations, associations, and any other legal entity recognized by law.
(b) The terms "meat" and "meat-food products" whenever used in this article, shall include the carcasses or parts thereof, of cattle, sheep, goats, other ruminants, including exotic animals, swine, horses, mules, rabbits, poultry and ratites and the meat and meat-food products of such animals.
(c) The term "food unfit for human consumption" shall be construed to include the meat and meat-food products of horses and mules and all meats or meat-food products which are so affected with disease that it would be dangerous to use the meat or other parts for human food; also, all meats or meat-food products which are contaminated, putrid, unsound, unhealthful, or otherwise unfit for food, or which have been derived from any animal which has died as a result of disease or accident, or which was in a dying condition at the time of slaughter.
(d) The word "establishment" as used in this article, shall include: (i) any building or structure in which slaughtering, butchering, meat processing, meat canning, meat packing, meat manufacturing or rendering is carried on; and (ii) the ground upon which such building or structure is erected, and so much ground adjacent thereto as is used in carrying on the business of such establishment, including drains, gutters, waste disposal and cesspools used in connection with the establishment.
(e) The word "equipment" as used in this article, shall include all machinery, fixtures, containers, vessels, tools, implements and apparatus used in and about an establishment.
(f) The word "commissioner" as used in this article, shall mean the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, or his duly authorized deputies.
(g) The word "ratite" means a member of a group of large flightless birds including the ostrich, rhea and emu.
(h) The words "exotic animal" mean a member of a species of game not indigenous to this state, including axis deer, fallow deer, red deer or other cloven-hooved ruminant animals and ratites.
(i) The term "mRNA vaccine or vaccine material" means a substance to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against disease by introducing messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) that corresponds to a viral protein.
(2) All persons engaged in business as a meat broker, jobber, dealer, distributor, peddler, transporter, or wholesaler of any carcasses of meat animals or poultry or parts or products thereof, whether fresh, frozen, cured or otherwise and whether canned, wrapped, packaged or prepackaged, but not otherwise handled, whether intended for human food or other purposes, or any person engaged in the business as a public warehouseman storing any such items or products shall register with the commissioner on forms provided and shall operate under the applicable inspection authority provided in this article and by the Mississippi Meat Inspection Act of 1968 [Chapter 35 of Title 75], provided persons operating the aforementioned nonslaughter and nonprocessing businesses are exempt from the license and fee specified in Section 75-33-7.
(3) The slaughtering by any person of animals and poultry of his own raising, and the processing and transportation by him of animals and poultry products exclusively for use by him and members of his household and his nonpaying guests and employees, shall be exempt from the provisions of this article. Any other operations of an unlicensed, unapproved slaughterhouse and/or processing facility to escape the provisions of this article shall be unlawful, and any person found guilty of such violation shall be punished as provided in Section 75-33-37.
(4) The provisions of this article shall not apply to poultry producers with respect to poultry of their own raising on their own farms on the same basis as now provided in the United States Wholesome Poultry Products Act and regulations thereunder, and such exemptions shall be consistent with said act and regulations. However, the adulteration and misbranding provisions of said act, other than the requirement of the inspection legend, shall apply to articles which are exempt from inspection by said act and regulations.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.