ASSEMBLY CONSUMER AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 5084

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JUNE 4, 2026

      The Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 5084.

      As amended and reported by the committee, the bill establishes labeling standards for packaged cell-cultivated food products and requires consumer notification by food service businesses when offering cell-cultivated food.

      Under the bill, “cell-cultivated food” is defined as any cultured animal tissue produced from in vitro animal cell cultures outside of the organism from which it is derived to produce food, or ingredients for food.

      The bill requires that packaged cell-cultivated food have a label on the front of the packaging indicating that the product is or contains cell-cultivated food and that the information is displayed conspicuously and understandably.  The bill provides specifications regarding the size and placement of the label.  The bill also requires food service businesses to indicate if a product offered contains cell-cultivated food.  Under the bill, a “food service business” is a business that sells or provides pre-cooked or prepared food for immediate consumption, such as restaurants, cafes, delicatessens, coffee shops, convenience stores, grocery stores, vending trucks or carts, food trucks, movie theaters, and institutional cafeterias in businesses or governmental entities.  As amended, the bill’s provisions do not apply to “commercial feed” or “pet food,” as those terms are defined by the New Jersey Commercial Feed Law of 1970, or products regulated as animal food.

      Finally, the bill requires the Department of Health (DOH), in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, to adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement the bill’s provisions.  These would include the creation of standards of measurement and qualification for packaged cell-cultivated food in raw, processed, and prepared foods, and standards for signage or notification for cell-cultivated food served by food service businesses.   

      A violation of the bill’s provisions would render a packaged or offered item to be deemed misbranded.  Purveyors of misbranded food items are subject to penalties for violating the State Sanitary Code (N.J.S.A.26:1A-10), which is enforced by the DOH.  Each violation of the State Sanitary Code constitutes a separate offense and is punishable by a penalty of not less than $50 and not more than $1,000 which may be recovered in a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction by the State or a municipal board of health.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to clarify that the bill’s requirements do not apply to “commercial feed” or “pet food,” as those terms are defined by the New Jersey Commercial Feed Law of 1970, or products regulated as animal food.