HB 913 Mississippi House · 2025 Regular Session

Meat labeling; require accurate labeling of meat and nonmeat products by processors, retail and food establishment prior to final sale.

HB 913 requires food processors, retailers, and restaurants to clearly label meat and non-meat products (like plant-based or lab-grown alternatives) at the final point of sale to prevent consumer confusion. It defines terms like "cultivated-protein food product" and mandates that businesses must state whether a product is meat-based or not, using plain language on labels or signage. The Mississippi Department of Agriculture will enforce these rules based on complaints, with civil penalties for violations, but cannot revoke business licenses for noncompliance. This directly affects food businesses selling meat substitutes, ensuring consumers know if a product is actual meat or a non-meat alternative.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
House Passage
Jan 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
Signed into Law
Apr 2025
Introduced Jan 30, 2025 Signed Apr 17, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Passed the lower Current version · 6 edits
MODERATE
This bill strengthens enforcement powers for meat labeling by requiring mandatory stop orders rather than discretionary ones, clarifies enforcement authority to the department or Attorney General only, and updates terminology to use 'Secretary of Agriculture' instead of 'secretary of agriculture'. It also modifies language around inspection requirements and adds specific restrictions on labeling cultivated-protein products.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on meat and meat substitute product labeling requirements, but enforcement mechanisms and certain definitions have been modified.
ENFORCEMENT

Changed stop order issuance from discretionary ('may issue') to mandatory ('shall issue') when the department has reasonable cause to believe a product is misbranded.

Removed county attorney authority to enforce stop orders; now only the department or Attorney General can petition courts for enforcement.

DEFINITION

Updated 'secretary of agriculture' to 'Secretary of Agriculture' in dietary supplement labeling provisions.

Added language that cultivated-protein products produced from cell cultures outside the source organism cannot be labeled as meat or meat-food products manufactured or sold within the state.

REQUIREMENT

Changed inspection license fee language from lowercase 'ten dollars' to capitalized 'Ten Dollars' with explicit dollar amount notation.

TECHNICAL

Various formatting and punctuation changes throughout the document, including removal of some line breaks and adjustment of spacing.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 6, 2025 · House Jan 29, 2025

How they voted

490
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 51
Mar 6, 2025
D Democratic16
15 Yea 1
93% Yea
R Republican35
34 Yea 1
97% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
18
Key actions
9
Committee
7
Amendments
1
Apr 17, 2025
Signed into law
Approved by Governor
executive
Apr 1, 2025
Upper · Passed
Conference Report Adopted
upper
Mar 31, 2025
Lower · Passed
Conference Report Adopted
lower
Mar 28, 2025
Upper · Passed
Conference Report Filed
upper
Mar 6, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed As Amended
upper
Mar 6, 2025
Upper · Passed
Amended
upper
Feb 27, 2025
Upper · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass As Amended
upper
Feb 17, 2025
Committee
Referred To Agriculture
upper
Jan 30, 2025
Introduced
Transmitted To Senate
lower
Jan 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
Jan 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass
lower
Jan 17, 2025
Committee
Referred To Agriculture
lower
1 primary · 2 co-sponsors

Sponsors