Bill Text: NY S02072 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides for the labeling of raw agricultural commodities, processed foods, seed, and seed stock produced with genetic engineering; defines terms; imposes penalties for false labels and misbranding; sets forth exemptions.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-3)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-28 - RECOMMIT, ENACTING CLAUSE STRICKEN [S02072 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S02072-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2072 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 12, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sens. LAVALLE, ADDABBO, BOYLE, BRESLIN, MONTGOMERY, MURPHY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law and the agriculture and markets law, in relation to the labeling of genetically modified foods The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds that 2 New York state consumers have the right to know whether the foods they 3 purchase have been produced with genetic engineering so they can make 4 informed purchasing decisions. 5 Further the legislature finds that: 6 (a) Currently, there is no federal law that requires food producers to 7 identify whether foods were produced with genetic engineering. At the 8 same time, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not 9 require safety studies of such foods; 10 (b) Identification of foods produced with genetic engineering can 11 provide a critical method for tracking effects of consuming foods 12 produced with genetic engineering; 13 (c) More than sixty countries, including key United States trading 14 partners, have laws mandating disclosure of genetically engineered 15 foods. Identifying foods produced with genetic engineering will help 16 protect our state's export market; 17 (d) A variety of genetically engineered crops are commercially culti- 18 vated and sold in the United States, including corn, canola, sugar 19 beets, soybean, cotton, alfalfa, and papaya. It has been estimated that 20 70-80% of packaged grocery products contain some materials derived from 21 these genetically engineered crops; 22 (e) Without disclosure, consumers with certain dietary restrictions 23 may unknowingly consume such food in violation of such dietary 24 restrictions; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05350-01-7S. 2072 2 1 (f) Preserving the identity, quality, and reliability of agricultural 2 products is of prime importance to our state's fiscal health; 3 (g) The cultivation of genetically engineered crops can cause serious 4 environmental impacts; 5 (h) It is the intent of this act to ensure that New York consumers and 6 farmers are fully and reliably informed about whether the food and seed 7 they purchase and eat were produced with genetic engineering so they may 8 choose for themselves whether to purchase and eat or use such food and 9 seed; 10 (i) It is the intent of this act only to regulate the labeling of 11 seed, seed stock, and food for human consumption offered for retail sale 12 within New York State. 13 § 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 391-u 14 to read as follows: 15 § 391-u. Genetically engineered foods; required labeling. 1. Defi- 16 nitions. As used in this section, the term: 17 (a) "Department" means the state department of agriculture and 18 markets. 19 (b) "Distributor" means a person or business engaged in any method of 20 distributing or transporting a food or food product from one place to 21 another. 22 (c) "Enzyme" means a protein that catalyzes chemical reactions of 23 other substances without itself being destroyed or altered upon 24 completion of the reactions. 25 (d) "Genetically engineered," or "genetically modified," or any deriv- 26 ative of those words, as applied to any food for human consumption or 27 seed means produced from or with an organism or organisms with genetics 28 altered materially through the application of: 29 (i) in vitro nucleic acid techniques, including but not limited to 30 recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques and the direct 31 injection of nucleic acid into cells or organelles; or 32 (ii) the fusion of cells beyond the taxonomic family that overcomes 33 natural physiological, reproductive, or recombinant barriers and that 34 are not techniques used in traditional breeding and selection. 35 For purposes of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, "in vitro nucleic 36 acid techniques" include, but are not limited to, recombinant DNA or RNA 37 techniques that use vector systems, and techniques involving the direct 38 introduction into the organisms of hereditary materials prepared outside 39 the organisms such as biolistics, microinjection, macro-injection, 40 chemoporation, electroporation, microencapsulation, and liposome fusion. 41 (e) "Manufacturer" means a person or business engaged in the 42 production or processing of seed, seed stock, or any food product. 43 (f) "Medical food" means a food that is formulated to be consumed or 44 administered enterally under the supervision of a physician and that is 45 intended for the specific dietary management of a disease or condition 46 for which distinctive nutritional requirements, based on recognized 47 scientific principles, are established by medical evaluation. 48 (g) "Processed food" means any food other than a raw agricultural 49 commodity, including any food produced from a raw agricultural commodity 50 that has been subject to processing such as canning, smoking, pressing, 51 cooking, freezing, dehydration, fermentation, or milling. 52 (h) "Processing aid" means: 53 (i) a substance that is added to a food during the processing of the 54 food but is removed in some manner from the food before it is packaged 55 in its finished form;S. 2072 3 1 (ii) a substance that is added to a food during processing, is 2 converted into constituents normally present in the food, and does not 3 significantly increase the amount of the constituents naturally found in 4 the food; or 5 (iii) a substance that is added to a food for its technical or func- 6 tional effect in the processing but is present in the finished food at 7 insignificant levels and does not have any technical or functional 8 effect in that finished food. 9 (i) "Stock-keeping unit," for purposes of subdivision three of this 10 section, shall mean all of a group of food items of the same brand, 11 quantity of contents, retail price, and variety. 12 (j) "Raw agricultural commodity" means any plant, animal, or fungi 13 grown or produced for human food-use purposes. 14 (k) "Retailer" means a person or business engaged in selling food from 15 individuals or businesses to the end-user. 16 2. Labeling of genetically engineered seed and food. (a) Any food for 17 human consumption, seed, or seed stock offered for retail sale in New 18 York is misbranded if it is entirely genetically engineered or partially 19 produced with genetic engineering and that fact is not disclosed as 20 follows: 21 (i) In the case of a raw agricultural commodity that is not separately 22 packaged or labeled, the words "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or 23 any other derivative of those words, the initials "GE", "GM", or "GMO", 24 or a derivative of those phrases, shall be placed on the container used 25 for packaging, holding, and/or transport in a clear and conspicuous 26 manner by the manufacturer, and maintained by the distributor, and 27 displayed in a clear and conspicuous manner on the retail store shelf or 28 bin in which such commodity is offered for sale by the retailer. 29 (ii) In the case of a raw agricultural commodity that is separately 30 packaged or processed food containing some products of genetic engineer- 31 ing, the manufacturer must label the food, in a clear and conspicuous 32 manner on the package of such food, with the words "Produced with Genet- 33 ic Engineering" or any other derivative of those words, the initials 34 "GE", "GM", "GMO", or a derivative of those phrases. 35 (iii) In the case of any seed or seed stock, the manufacturer or other 36 entity responsible for producing the seed must label the seed or seed 37 stock container, the sales receipt, and any other reference to identifi- 38 cation, ownership, or possession, in a clear and conspicuous manner with 39 the words "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or any other derivative of 40 those words, the initials "GE", "GM", "GMO", or a derivative of those 41 phrases. 42 (b) This section shall not be construed to require either the listing 43 or identification of any ingredients that were genetically engineered, 44 nor that the phrase "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or any other 45 derivative of those words, the initials "GE", "GM", "GMO", or a deriva- 46 tive of those phrases be placed immediately preceding any common name or 47 primary product descriptor of a food. 48 (c) Any processed food that would be subject to this section solely 49 because it includes one or more materials produced with genetic engi- 50 neering is not misbranded provided that the genetically engineered mate- 51 rials in the aggregate do not account for more than nine-tenths of one 52 percent of the total weight of the processed food. 53 (d) This subdivision does not apply to any of the following: 54 (i) Food consisting entirely of, or derived entirely from, an animal 55 that has not itself been produced with genetic engineering, regardless 56 of whether the animal has been fed with any food produced with geneticS. 2072 4 1 engineering or treated with any drug or vaccine that has been produced 2 with genetic engineering; 3 (ii) A raw agricultural commodity, processed food, or seed that has 4 been grown, raised, produced, or derived without the knowing and inten- 5 tional use of genetically engineered seed or food. To be included within 6 the exclusion under this paragraph, the person or entity responsible for 7 complying with this subdivision with respect to a raw agricultural 8 commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock must obtain, from whomev- 9 er sold the raw agricultural commodity, processed food, seed, or seed 10 stock to that person, a written statement, which may be included on an 11 invoice that may be in an electronic form, that the raw agricultural 12 commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock: (1) has not been know- 13 ingly or intentionally produced with genetic engineering; and (2) has 14 been segregated from, and has not been knowingly or intentionally 15 commingled with foods or seeds that may have been produced with genetic 16 engineering; 17 (iii) Any processed food that would be subject to this section solely 18 because one or more of the processing aids or enzymes used in its 19 production were produced with or derived from genetic engineering; 20 (iv) Any alcoholic beverage that is subject to regulation by the alco- 21 holic beverage control law; 22 (v) Food that has been lawfully certified to be labeled, marketed, and 23 offered for sale as "organic" pursuant to the federal Organic Foods 24 Production Act of 1990, 7 U.S.C. 6501, et seq. as amended from time to 25 time, and the National Organic Program regulations promulgated pursuant 26 thereto by the United States Department of Agriculture; 27 (vi) Food that is not packaged for sale and that either: (i) is a 28 processed food prepared and intended for immediate human consumption or 29 (ii) is served, sold, or otherwise provided in any restaurant, food 30 facility, or food retailer that is engaged in the sale of food prepared 31 and intended for immediate human consumption; or 32 (vii) Medical food. 33 3. Violation. Any person or entity who violates the requirements of 34 this section shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than one 35 thousand dollars, per day, per stock-keeping unit, provided however that 36 no liability shall arise under this section until after said person or 37 entity is given formal notice of the violation. 38 4. Notice of violation. In any case where there has been a final 39 determination by the department, of a violation of any of the provisions 40 of this section, the department shall make available to the public, 41 without charge, the following information: 42 (a) the name and business address of the violator; 43 (b) the date or dates of inspection of the violator's premises by the 44 department; 45 (c) the violation that was determined to have occurred, including the 46 name of the product; and 47 (d) the amount of the penalty that was assessed by the department. 48 5. Third-party protection; reliance on written statement. A distribu- 49 tor or retailer that sells a raw agricultural commodity, processed food, 50 seed, or seed stock that has been produced with genetic engineering that 51 fails to make the disclosure required pursuant to subdivision two of 52 this section, is not subject to financial liability in any civil action 53 to enforce this section if the distributor or retailer relied on the 54 written statement obtained under subdivision two of this section 55 provided by the manufacturer stating that the raw agricultural commod-S. 2072 5 1 ity, processed food, seed, or seed stock is not subject to the disclo- 2 sure requirements under this section. 3 § 3. Section 198 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by 4 adding a new subdivision 12 to read as follows: 5 12. The term: (a) "Distributor" means a person or business engaged in 6 any method of distributing or transporting a food or food product from 7 one place to another. 8 (b) "Enzyme" means a protein that catalyzes chemical reactions of 9 other substances without itself being destroyed or altered upon 10 completion of the reactions. 11 (c) "Genetically engineered," or "genetically modified," or any deriv- 12 ative of those words, as applied to any food for human consumption or 13 seed means produced from or with an organism or organisms with genetics 14 altered materially through the application of: 15 (i) in vitro nucleic acid techniques, including but not limited to 16 recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques and the direct 17 injection of nucleic acid into cells or organelles; or 18 (ii) the fusion of cells beyond the taxonomic family that overcomes 19 natural physiological, reproductive, or recombinant barriers and that 20 are not techniques used in traditional breeding and selection. 21 For purposes of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, "in vitro nucleic 22 acid techniques" include, but are not limited to, recombinant DNA or RNA 23 techniques that use vector systems and techniques involving the direct 24 introduction into the organisms of hereditary materials prepared outside 25 the organisms such as biolistics, microinjection, macro-injection, 26 chemoporation, electroporation, microencapsulation, and liposome fusion. 27 (d) "Manufacturer" means a person or business engaged in the 28 production or processing of seed, seed stock, or any food product. 29 (e) "Medical food" means a food that is formulated to be consumed or 30 administered enterally under the supervision of a physician and that is 31 intended for the specific dietary management of a disease or condition 32 for which distinctive nutritional requirements, based on recognized 33 scientific principles, are established by medical evaluation. 34 (f) "Processed food" means any food other than a raw agricultural 35 commodity, including any food produced from a raw agricultural commodity 36 that has been subject to processing such as canning, smoking, pressing, 37 cooking, freezing, dehydration, fermentation, or milling. 38 (g) "Processing aid" means: 39 (i) a substance that is added to a food during the processing of the 40 food but is removed in some manner from the food before it is packaged 41 in its finished form; 42 (ii) a substance that is added to a food during processing, is 43 converted into constituents normally present in the food, and does not 44 significantly increase the amount of the constituents naturally found in 45 the food; or 46 (iii) a substance that is added to a food for its technical or func- 47 tional effect in the processing but is present in the finished food at 48 insignificant levels and does not have any technical or functional 49 effect in that finished food. 50 (h) For the purposes of paragraph (e) of subdivision fifteen of 51 section two hundred one of this article, "stock-keeping unit" shall mean 52 all of a group of food items of the same brand, quantity of contents, 53 retail price, and variety. 54 (i)"Raw agricultural commodity" means any plant, animal, or fungi 55 grown or produced for human food-use purposes.S. 2072 6 1 (j) "Retailer" means a person or business engaged in selling food from 2 individuals or businesses to the end-user. 3 § 4. Section 201 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by 4 adding a new subdivision 15 to read as follows: 5 15. (a) Any food for human consumption, seed, or seed stock offered 6 for retail sale in New York is misbranded if it is entirely genetically 7 engineered or partially produced with genetic engineering and that fact 8 is not disclosed as follows: 9 (i) In the case of a raw agricultural commodity that is not separately 10 packaged or labeled, the words "produced with genetic engineering" or 11 any other derivative of those words, the initials "GE", "GM", or "GMO", 12 or a derivative of those phrases, shall be placed on the container used 13 for packaging, holding, and/or transport in a clear and conspicuous 14 manner by the manufacturer, and maintained by the distributor, and 15 displayed in a clear and conspicuous manner on the retail shelf or bin 16 in which such commodity is offered for sale by the retailer. 17 (ii) In the case of a raw agricultural commodity that is separately 18 packaged or processed food containing some products of genetic engineer- 19 ing, the manufacturer must label the food, in a clear and conspicuous 20 manner on the package of such food, with the words "Produced with Genet- 21 ic Engineering" or any other derivative of those words, the initials 22 "GE", "GM", "GMO", or a derivative of those phrases. 23 (iii) In the case of any seed or seed stock, the manufacturer or other 24 entity responsible for producing the seed must label the seed or seed 25 stock container, the sales receipt, and any other reference to identifi- 26 cation, ownership, or possession, in a clear and conspicuous manner with 27 the words "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or any other derivative of 28 those words, the initials "GE,", "GM", "GMO", or a derivative of those 29 phrases. 30 (b) This subdivision shall not be construed to require either the 31 listing or identification of any ingredients that were genetically engi- 32 neered, nor that the phrase "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or any 33 other derivative of those words, the initials "GE," "GM", "GMO", or a 34 derivative of those phrases be placed immediately preceding any common 35 name or primary product descriptor of a food. 36 (c) Any processed food that would be subject to this section solely 37 because it includes one or more materials produced with genetic engi- 38 neering is not misbranded provided that the genetically engineered mate- 39 rials in the aggregate do not account for more than nine-tenths of one 40 percent of the total weight of the processed food. 41 (d) This subdivision does not apply to any of the following: 42 (i) Food consisting entirely of, or derived entirely from, an animal 43 that has not itself been produced with genetic engineering, regardless 44 of whether the animal has been fed with any food produced with genetic 45 engineering or treated with any drug or vaccine that has been produced 46 with genetic engineering; 47 (ii) A raw agricultural commodity, processed food, or seed that has 48 been grown, raised, produced, or derived without the knowing and inten- 49 tional use of genetically engineered seed or food. To be included within 50 the exclusion under this paragraph, the person or entity responsible for 51 complying with paragraph (a) of this subdivision with respect to a raw 52 agricultural commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock must obtain, 53 from whomever sold the raw agricultural commodity, processed food, seed, 54 or seed stock must obtain, from whomever sold the raw agricultural 55 commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock to that person, a written 56 statement, which may be included on an invoice that may be in an elec-S. 2072 7 1 tronic form, that the raw agricultural commodity, processed food, seed, 2 or seed stock: (1) has not been knowingly or intentionally produced with 3 genetic engineering; and (2) has been segregated from, and has not been 4 knowingly or intentionally commingled with foods or seeds that may have 5 been produced with genetic engineering; 6 (iii) Any processed food that would be subject to this subdivision 7 solely because one or more of the processing aids or enzymes used in its 8 production were produced with or derived from genetic engineering; 9 (iv) Any alcoholic beverage that is subject to regulation by the alco- 10 holic beverage control law; 11 (v) Food that has been lawfully certified to be labeled, marketed, and 12 offered for sale as "organic" pursuant to the federal Organic Foods 13 Production Act of 1990, 7 U.S.C. 6501, et seq. as amended from time to 14 time, and the National Organic Program regulations promulgated pursuant 15 thereto by the United States Department of Agriculture; 16 (vi) Food that is not packaged for sale and that either: (i) is a 17 processed food prepared and intended for immediate human consumption or 18 (ii) is served, sold, or otherwise provided in any restaurant, food 19 facility, or food retailer that is engaged in the sale of food prepared 20 and intended for immediate human consumption; or 21 (vii) Medical food. 22 (e) Any person or entity who violates the requirements of this section 23 shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than one thousand 24 dollars, per day, per stock-keeping unit, provided however that no 25 liability shall arise under this section until after said person or 26 entity is given formal notice of the violation. 27 (f) In any case where there has been a final determination by the 28 department, of a violation of any of the provisions of this subdivision, 29 the department shall make available to the public, without charge, the 30 following information: 31 (i) the name and business address of the violator; 32 (ii) the date or dates of inspection of the violator's premises by the 33 department; 34 (iii) the violation that was determined to have occurred, including 35 the name of the product; and 36 (iv) the amount of the penalty that was assessed by the department. 37 (g) A distributor or retailer that sells a raw agricultural commodity, 38 processed food, seed, or seed stock that has been produced with genetic 39 engineering that fails to make the disclosure required pursuant to 40 section three hundred ninety-one-u of the general business law, is not 41 subject to financial liability in any civil action to enforce this 42 section if the distributor or retailer relied on the written statement 43 obtained under subdivision two of section three hundred ninety-one-u of 44 the general business law provided by the manufacturer stating that the 45 raw agricultural commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock is not 46 subject to the disclosure requirements under such section. 47 § 5. Severability clause. If any provision of this act or its applica- 48 tion to any person, legal entity, or circumstance is held invalid, the 49 remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other 50 persons, legal entity or circumstances shall not be affected. 51 § 6. This act shall take effect twenty-four months after it shall have 52 become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the depart- 53 ment of agriculture and markets shall adopt any rules and regulations 54 necessary to implement this act, including, but not limited to, creating 55 and maintaining a list, which shall be made available to the public at 56 no cost, of raw agricultural commodities that are produced with geneticS. 2072 8 1 engineering; provided, further, that the department of agriculture and 2 markets is not authorized to create any exemptions beyond those provided 3 for in paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 of section 391-u of the general 4 business law as added by section two of this act and paragraph (d) of 5 subdivision 15 of section 201 of the agriculture and markets law as 6 added by section four of this act; this act shall remain in effect until 7 such time as a comprehensive federal system requiring mandatory labeling 8 of raw agricultural commodities, processed foods, seed, and seed stock 9 produced with genetic engineering is implemented, provided however that 10 nothing contained herein shall prevent the state from exercising any 11 concurrent authority authorized by federal law; provided that the 12 commissioner of agriculture and markets shall notify the legislative 13 bill drafting commission upon the occurrence of the enactment of a 14 comprehensive federal system requiring mandatory labeling of raw agri- 15 cultural commodities, processed foods, seed, and seed stock produced 16 with genetic engineering in order that the commission may maintain an 17 accurate and timely effective data base of the official text of the laws 18 of the state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions 19 of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public 20 officers law.