By: Burnam H.B. No. 3387
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to prohibiting the use of food crops for the genetic
engineering of drugs, industrial chemicals and other non-food
materials.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 8. Agriculture Code, is amended by adding
Chapter 253 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 253. GENETIC ENGINEERING OF NON-FOOD MATERIALS IN FOOD
CROPS
Sec. 253.001. DEFINITIONS. In this Chapter:
(a) "Animal Feed" means: an article intended for used as a
food for animals other than humans as a source of nutrients in the
diet of the animal. The term is not limited to a mixture intended to
be the sole ration of the animal.
(b) "Food" means:
(1) articles used for food or drink for humans;
(2) chewing gum; and,
(3 articles used for components of any such article.
(c) "Genetic Engineering" means the artificial insertion of
foreign genetic material into an organism.
Sec. 253.002. Prohibited Acts. The following acts and the
causing of the following acts within this state are unlawful and
prohibited:
(a) The genetic engineering of drugs, industrial chemicals
or other non-food materials into crops or livestock normally used
as food or animal feed.
(b) The production, transport or release in the state of
Texas of food or animal feed crops or livestock genetically
engineered to contain or produce drugs, industrial chemicals or
other non-food materials.
SECTION 2. Title 6, chapter 431, Health and Safety Code is
amended as follows:
Sec. 431.081. ADULTERATED FOOD. A food shall be deemed to
be adulterated:
(a) if:
(1) it bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious
substance, other than one that is a pesticide chemical in or on a
raw agricultural commodity, a food additive, a color additive, or a
new animal drug which is unsafe within the meaning of Section
431.161; or
(2) it:
(A) bears or contains any added poisonous or
added deleterious substance, other than one that is a pesticide
chemical in or on a raw agricultural commodity, a food additive, a
color additive, or a new animal drug which is unsafe within the
meaning of Section 431.161; or
(B) is a raw agricultural commodity and it bears
or contains a pesticide chemical which is unsafe within the meaning
of Section 431.161(a);
(C) is, or it bears or contains, any food
additive which is unsafe within the meaning of Section 431.161(a);
provided, that where a pesticide chemical has been used in or on a
raw agricultural commodity in conformity with an exemption granted
or a tolerance prescribed under Section 431.161(a), and such raw
agricultural commodity has been subjected to processing such as
canning, cooking, freezing, dehydrating, or milling, the residue of
such pesticide chemical remaining in or on such processed food
shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 431.161 and
Section 409 of the federal Act, not be deemed unsafe if such residue
in or on the raw agricultural commodity has been removed to the
extent possible in good manufacturing practice, and the
concentration of such residue in the processed food, when ready to
eat, is not greater than the tolerance prescribed for the raw
agricultural commodity; [or]
(D) is, or it bears or contains, a new animal
drug, or a conversion product of a new animal drug, that is unsafe
under Section 512 of the federal Act;
(E) is, or bears or contains material that is
genetically engineered to produce drugs, industrial chemicals or
other non-food material;
(3) it consists in whole or in part of a diseased,
contaminated, filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance, or if it is
otherwise unfit for foods; or
(4) it has been produced, prepared, packed or held
under unsanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated
with filth, or whereby it may have been rendered diseased,
unwholesome, or injurious to health; or
(5) it is, in whole or in part, the product of a
diseased animal, an animal which has died otherwise than by
slaughter, or an animal that has been fed upon the uncooked offal
from a slaughterhouse; or
(6) its container is composed, in whole or in part, of
any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render the
contents injurious to health; or
(7) it has been intentionally subjected to radiation,
unless the use of the radiation was in conformity with a regulation
or exemption in effect in accordance with Section 409 of the federal
Act;
(b) if:
(1) any valuable constituent has been in whole or in
part omitted or abstracted therefrom; or
(2) any substance has been substituted wholly or in
part therefor; or
(3) damage or inferiority has been concealed in any
manner; or
(4) 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
(5) it contains saccharin, dulcin, glucin, or other
sugar substitutes except in dietary foods, and when so used shall be
declared; or
(6) it be fresh meat and it contains any chemical
substance containing sulphites, sulphur dioxide, or any other
chemical preservative which is not approved by the United States
Department of Agriculture, the Animal Plant Health Inspection
Service (A.P.H.I.S.) or by rules of the board;
(c) if it is, or it bears or contains, a color additive that
is unsafe under Section 431.161(a); or
(d) if it is confectionery and:
(1) has any nonnutritive object partially or
completely imbedded in it; provided, that this subdivision does not
apply if, in accordance with rules of the board, the object is of
practical, functional value to the confectionery product and would
not render the product injurious or hazardous to health;
(2) bears or contains any alcohol, other than alcohol
not in excess of five percent by volume. Any confectionery that
bears or contains any alcohol in excess of one-half of one percent
by volume derived solely from the use of flavoring extracts and less
than five percent by volume:
(A) may not be sold to persons under the legal age
necessary to consume an alcoholic beverage in this state;
(B) must be labeled with a conspicuous, readily
legible statement that reads, "Sale of this product to a person
under the legal age necessary to consume an alcoholic beverage is
prohibited";
(C) may not be sold in a form containing liquid
alcohol such that it is capable of use for beverage purposes as that
term is used in the Alcoholic Beverage Code;
(D) may not be sold through a vending machine;
(E) must be labeled with a conspicuous, readily
legible statement that the product contains not more than five
percent alcohol by volume; and
(F) may not be sold in a business establishment
which derives less than 50 percent of its gross sales from the sale
of confectioneries; or
(3) bears or contains any nonnutritive substance;
provided, that this subdivision does not apply to a nonnutritive
substance that is in or on the confectionery by reason of its use
for a practical, functional purpose in the manufacture, packaging,
or storage of the confectionery if the use of the substance does not
promote deception of the consumer or otherwise result in
adulteration or misbranding in violation of this chapter; and
provided further, that the board may for the purpose of avoiding or
resolving uncertainty as to the application of this subdivision,
adopt rules allowing or prohibiting the use of particular
nonnutritive substances.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.