S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
1367
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
(PREFILED)
January 5, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JEFFRIES -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Consumer Affairs and 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:
Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
391-r to read as follows:
S 391-R. GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS; REQUIRED LABELING. 1. AS USED IN
THIS SECTION, THE TERM:
(A) "GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL" MEANS MATERIAL DERIVED FROM ANY
PART OF A GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM, WITHOUT REGARD TO WHETHER THE
ALTERED MOLECULAR OR CELLULAR CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORGANISM ARE
DETECTABLE IN THE MATERIAL.
(B) "GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM" MEANS:
(I) AN ORGANISM THAT HAS BEEN ALTERED AT THE MOLECULAR OR CELLULAR
LEVEL BY MEANS THAT ARE NOT POSSIBLE UNDER NATURAL CONDITIONS OR PROC-
ESSES, INCLUDING RECOMBINANT DNA AND RNA TECHNIQUES, CELL FUSION,
MICROENCAPSULATION, MACROENCAPSULATION, GENE DELETION AND DOUBLING,
INTRODUCTION OF A FOREIGN GENE, AND A PROCESS THAT CHANGES THE POSITIONS
OF GENES, OTHER THAN A MEANS CONSISTING EXCLUSIVELY OF BREEDING, CONJU-
GATION, FERMENTATION, HYBRIDIZATION, IN VITRO FERTILIZATION, OR TISSUE
CULTURE; AND
(II) AN ORGANISM MADE THROUGH SEXUAL OR ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION, OR BOTH,
INVOLVING AN ORGANISM DESCRIBED IN SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH,
IF POSSESSING ANY OF THE ALTERED MOLECULAR OR CELLULAR CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE ORGANISM SO DESCRIBED.
(C) "PRODUCED WITH A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL" USED WITH RESPECT
TO A FOOD, MEANS A FOOD IF:
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04678-01-1
A. 1367 2
(I) THE ORGANISM FROM WHICH THE FOOD IS DERIVED HAS BEEN INJECTED OR
OTHERWISE TREATED WITH A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL, EXCEPT THAT THE
USE OF MANURE AS A FERTILIZER FOR RAW AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES MAY NOT
BE CONSTRUED TO BE PRODUCTION WITH A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL;
(II) THE ANIMAL FROM WHICH THE FOOD IS DERIVED HAS BEEN FED GENET-
ICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL; AND
(III) THE FOOD CONTAINS AN INGREDIENT THAT IS A FOOD TO WHICH SUBPARA-
GRAPH (I) OR (II) OF THIS PARAGRAPH APPLIES.
2. NO PERSON, FIRM, CORPORATION, OR OTHER LEGAL ENTITY SHALL MANUFAC-
TURE, SELL OR DISTRIBUTE FOOD OR FOOD PRODUCTS PRODUCED WITH A GENET-
ICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL, OR CONTAINING A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL
UNLESS IT BEARS A LABEL OR LABELING UPON WHICH SHALL BE CLEARLY
IMPRINTED THE WORDS "THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATE-
RIAL," OR "THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED WITH A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERI-
AL".
3. (A) ANY PERSON, FIRM, CORPORATION, OR OTHER LEGAL ENTITY VIOLATING
THIS SECTION SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE PENALTIES FOR FALSE LABELS AND
MISBRANDING AS SET FORTH IN SECTION THREE HUNDRED NINETY-TWO-B OF THIS
ARTICLE UNLESS:
(I) SUCH PERSON IS AN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCER AND THE VIOLATION OCCURS
BECAUSE FOOD THAT IS GROWN, RAISED, OR OTHERWISE PRODUCED BY SUCH
PRODUCER, WHICH FOOD DOES NOT CONTAIN A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL
AND WAS NOT PRODUCED WITH A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL, IS CONTAM-
INATED WITH A FOOD THAT CONTAINS A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL OR WAS
PRODUCED WITH A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL INCLUDING CONTAMINATION
RESULTING FROM THE MINGLING OF FOODS; AND
(II) SUCH CONTAMINATION IS NOT INTENDED BY THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCER.
(B) PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT APPLY TO AN AGRICUL-
TURAL PRODUCER TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH CONTAMINATION OCCURS AS A RESULT
OF THE NEGLIGENCE OF SUCH PRODUCER.
S 2. Section 198 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by
adding a new subdivision 12 to read as follows:
12. (A) THE TERM "GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL" MEANS MATERIAL
DERIVED FROM ANY PART OF A GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM, WITHOUT REGARD
TO WHETHER THE ALTERED MOLECULAR OR CELLULAR CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
ORGANISM ARE DETECTABLE IN THE MATERIAL.
(B) THE TERM "GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM" MEANS:
(I) AN ORGANISM THAT HAS BEEN ALTERED AT THE MOLECULAR OR CELLULAR
LEVEL BY MEANS THAT ARE NOT POSSIBLE UNDER NATURAL CONDITIONS OR PROC-
ESSES, INCLUDING RECOMBINANT DNA AND RNA TECHNIQUES, CELL FUSION,
MICROENCAPSULATION, MACROENCAPSULATION, GENE DELETION AND DOUBLING,
INTRODUCTION OF A FOREIGN GENE, AND A PROCESS THAT CHANGES THE POSITION
OF GENES, OTHER THAN A MEANS CONSISTING EXCLUSIVELY OF BREEDING, CONJU-
GATION, FERMENTATION, HYBRIDIZATION, IN VITRO FERTILIZATION, OR TISSUE
CULTURE; AND
(II) AN ORGANISM MADE THROUGH SEXUAL OR ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION, OR BOTH,
INVOLVING AN ORGANISM DESCRIBED IN SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH,
IF POSSESSING ANY OF THE ALTERED MOLECULAR OR CELLULAR CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE ORGANISM SO DESCRIBED.
(C) THE TERM "PRODUCED WITH A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL," USED
WITH RESPECT TO A FOOD, MEANS A FOOD IF:
(I) THE ORGANISM FROM WHICH THE FOOD IS DERIVED HAS BEEN INJECTED OR
OTHERWISE TREATED WITH A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL, EXCEPT THAT THE
USE OF MANURE AS A FERTILIZER FOR RAW AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES MAY NOT
BE CONSTRUED TO BE PRODUCTION WITH A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL;
A. 1367 3
(II) THE ANIMAL FROM WHICH THE FOOD IS DERIVED HAS BEEN FED GENET-
ICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL; AND
(III) THE FOOD CONTAINS AN INGREDIENT THAT IS A FOOD TO WHICH SUBPARA-
GRAPH (I) OR (II) OF THIS PARAGRAPH APPLIES.
S 3. Section 201 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by
adding a new subdivision 15 to read as follows:
15. IF IT CONTAINS A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL, OR WAS PRODUCED
WITH A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL, UNLESS IT BEARS A LABEL OR LABEL-
ING UPON WHICH SHALL BE CLEARLY IMPRINTED THE WORDS "THIS PRODUCT
CONTAINS A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL," OR "THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED
WITH A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL".
(A) NO PERSON SHALL BE IN VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION IF:
(I) SUCH PERSON IS AN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCER AND THE VIOLATION OCCURS
BECAUSE FOOD THAT IS GROWN, RAISED, OR OTHERWISE PRODUCED BY SUCH
PRODUCER, WHICH FOOD DOES NOT CONTAIN A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL
AND WAS NOT PRODUCED WITH A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL, IS CONTAM-
INATED WITH A FOOD THAT CONTAINS A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL OR WAS
PRODUCED WITH A GENETICALLY MODIFIED MATERIAL, INCLUDING CONTAMINATION
RESULTING FROM THE MINGLING OF FOODS; AND
(II) SUCH CONTAMINATION IS NOT INTENDED BY THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCER.
(B) PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT APPLY TO AN AGRICUL-
TURAL PRODUCER TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH CONTAMINATION OCCURS AS A RESULT
OF THE NEGLIGENCE OF SUCH PRODUCER.
S 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law.