79R5153 BDH-F
By: Burnam H.B. No. 876
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the use in food of genetically engineered non-food
materials.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 3, Agriculture Code, is amended by adding
Chapter 50B to read as follows:
CHAPTER 50B. USE OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED NON-FOOD MATERIALS
Sec. 50B.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Animal feed" means an item used or intended for
use as a food for an animal or as a source of nutrients in the diet
of an animal, including a mixture that is the sole ration for an
animal.
(2) "Food" means:
(A) an item used as food or drink for a human;
(B) chewing gum; and
(C) an item used as a component of an item
described by Paragraph (A) or (B).
(3) "Genetic engineering" means the insertion of
foreign genetic material into the genetic material of an organism.
Sec. 50B.002. CERTAIN GENETIC ENGINEERING PROHIBITED. (a)
A person may not genetically engineer crops or livestock that are
used as food or animal feed so that the crops or livestock contain
or produce drugs, industrial chemicals, or other non-food
materials.
(b) A person may not produce, transport, or release in this
state food, animal feed, crops, or livestock genetically engineered
to contain or produce drugs, industrial chemicals, or other
non-food materials.
Sec. 50B.003. APPLICABILITY. This chapter does not apply
to a substance intended to provide crop protection, provided that
the substance is otherwise permitted under Section 431.081, Health
and Safety Code.
SECTION 2. Section 431.081, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read 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 which may render it injurious to health; but in case the
substance is not an added substance the food shall not be considered
adulterated under this subdivision if the quantity of the substance
in the food does not ordinarily render it injurious to health; 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); or
(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; or
(E) is, or it bears or contains, material that is
genetically engineered to produce a drug, industrial chemical, or
other non-food material; or
(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 September 1, 2005.