Assembly Bill A4233

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  4233

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 29, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. ABINANTI -- read once and referred to the Commit-
  tee on Consumer Affairs and Protection

AN  ACT  to  amend the general business law, in relation to enacting the
  New York right to know genetically engineered food act

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
the "New York right to know genetically engineered food act".
  S 2. Legislative intent. The legislature intends to create and enforce
the fundamental right of the people of New York  to  be  fully  informed
about  whether  the food they purchase and eat is genetically engineered
and not misbranded as natural so that they  can  choose  for  themselves
whether  to  purchase  and  eat  such foods. This act shall be liberally
construed to fulfill this purpose.
  S 3. The general business law is amended by adding a new article  16-A
to read as follows:
                               ARTICLE 16-A
         NEW YORK RIGHT TO KNOW GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD ACT
SECTION 266-A. DEFINITIONS.
        266-B. LABELING OF GENETIC ENGINEERING OF FOOD.
        266-C. MISBRANDING OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD AS "NATURAL".
        266-D. EXEMPTIONS.
        266-E. ENFORCEMENT.
  S  266-A.  DEFINITIONS. (A) THE TERM "CULTIVATED COMMERCIALLY" AS USED
IN THIS ARTICLE, MEANS GROWN OR RAISED BY A PERSON IN THE COURSE OF  HIS
OR HER BUSINESS OR TRADE AND SOLD WITHIN THE UNITED STATES.
  (B) "ENZYME" SHALL MEAN A PROTEIN THAT CATALYZES CHEMICAL REACTIONS OF
OTHER   SUBSTANCES  WITHOUT  ITSELF  BEING  DESTROYED  OR  ALTERED  UPON
COMPLETION OF THE REACTIONS.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD08374-01-5

A. 4233                             2
              

  (C)(I) "GENETICALLY ENGINEERED" SHALL MEAN ANY FOOD THAT  IS  PRODUCED
FROM  AN  ORGANISM  OR  ORGANISMS IN WHICH THE GENETIC MATERIAL HAS BEEN
CHANGED THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF:
  (A) IN VITRO NUCLEIC ACID TECHNIQUES, INCLUDING RECOMBINANT DEOXYRIBO-
NUCLEIC  ACID  (DNA) TECHNIQUES AND THE DIRECT INJECTION OF NUCLEIC ACID
INTO CELLS OR ORGANELLES, OR
  (B) FUSION OF CELLS, INCLUDING  PROTOPLAST  FUSION,  OR  HYBRIDIZATION
TECHNIQUES  THAT OVERCOME NATURAL PHYSIOLOGICAL, REPRODUCTIVE, OR RECOM-
BINATION BARRIERS, WHERE THE DONOR CELLS/PROTOPLASTS DO NOT FALL  WITHIN
THE  SAME  TAXONOMIC  FAMILY,  IN  A  WAY THAT DOES NOT OCCUR BY NATURAL
MULTIPLICATION OR NATURAL RECOMBINATION.
  (II) FOR PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE (A) "ORGANISM" MEANS ANY  BIOLOGICAL
ENTITY  CAPABLE  OF  REPLICATION,  REPRODUCTION, OR TRANSFERRING GENETIC
MATERIAL.
  (B) "IN VITRO NUCLEIC ACID TECHNIQUES" INCLUDE, BUT  ARE  NOT  LIMITED
TO,  RECOMBINANT DNA OR RNA TECHNIQUES THAT USE VECTOR SYSTEMS AND TECH-
NIQUES INVOLVING THE DIRECT INTRODUCTION INTO THE ORGANISMS  OF  HEREDI-
TARY  MATERIALS  PREPARED OUTSIDE THE ORGANISMS SUCH AS MICRO-INJECTION,
MACRO-INJECTION,  CHEMOPORATION,  ELECTROPORATION,  MICRO-ENCAPSULATION,
AND LIPOSOME FUSION.
  (D) "PROCESSED FOOD" SHALL MEAN ANY FOOD OTHER THAN A RAW AGRICULTURAL
COMMODITY,  AND  INCLUDES  ANY  FOOD  PRODUCED  FROM  A RAW AGRICULTURAL
COMMODITY THAT HAS BEEN SUBJECT TO PROCESSING SUCH AS CANNING,  SMOKING,
PRESSING, COOKING, FREEZING, DEHYDRATION, FERMENTATION, OR MILLING.
  (E)  "PROCESSING  AID"  SHALL  MEAN (1) A SUBSTANCE THAT IS ADDED TO A
FOOD DURING THE PROCESSING OF SUCH FOOD, BUT IS REMOVED IN  SOME  MANNER
FROM THE FOOD BEFORE IT IS PACKAGED IN ITS FINISHED FORM;
  (2)  A  SUBSTANCE  THAT  IS  ADDED  TO  A  FOOD  DURING PROCESSING, IS
CONVERTED INTO CONSTITUENTS NORMALLY PRESENT IN THE FOOD, AND  DOES  NOT
SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF THE CONSTITUENTS NATURALLY FOUND IN
THE FOOD; OR
  (3)  A  SUBSTANCE  THAT  IS ADDED TO A FOOD FOR ITS TECHNICAL OR FUNC-
TIONAL EFFECT IN THE PROCESSING, BUT IS PRESENT IN THE FINISHED FOOD  AT
INSIGNIFICANT  LEVELS  AND  DOES  NOT  HAVE  ANY TECHNICAL OR FUNCTIONAL
EFFECT IN THAT FINISHED FOOD.
  (F) "FOOD PROCESSING ESTABLISHMENT" SHALL HAVE THE MEANING  SET  FORTH
IN SECTION 251-Z-2 OF THE AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS LAW.
  S  266-B. LABELING OF GENETIC ENGINEERING OF FOOD. (A) COMMENCING JULY
FIRST, TWO THOUSAND SIXTEEN, ANY FOOD OFFERED FOR  RETAIL  SALE  IN  NEW
YORK  IS  MISBRANDED  IF  IT  IS  OR MAY HAVE BEEN ENTIRELY OR PARTIALLY
PRODUCED WITH GENETIC ENGINEERING AND THAT FACT IS NOT DISCLOSED: (I) IN
THE CASE OF A RAW AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY  ON  THE  PACKAGE  OFFERED  FOR
RETAIL  SALE,  WITH  THE  CLEAR AND CONSPICUOUS WORDS "GENETICALLY ENGI-
NEERED" ON THE FRONT OF THE PACKAGE OF SUCH COMMODITY OR, IN THE CASE OF
ANY SUCH COMMODITY THAT IS NOT SEPARATELY  PACKAGED  OR  LABELED,  ON  A
LABEL APPEARING ON THE RETAIL STORE SHELF OR BIN IN WHICH SUCH COMMODITY
IS  DISPLAYED FOR SALE; (II) IN THE CASE OF ANY PROCESSED FOOD, IN CLEAR
AND CONSPICUOUS LANGUAGE ON THE FRONT OR BACK OF  THE  PACKAGE  OF  SUCH
FOOD,  WITH  THE  WORDS "PARTIALLY PRODUCED WITH GENETIC ENGINEERING" OR
"MAY BE PARTIALLY PRODUCED WITH GENETIC ENGINEERING".
  (B) SUBDIVISION (A) OF THIS SECTION AND SUBDIVISION (E) OF SECTION TWO
HUNDRED SIXTY-SIX-D OF THIS ARTICLE SHALL NOT BE  CONSTRUED  TO  REQUIRE
EITHER  THE  LISTING  OR IDENTIFICATION OF ANY INGREDIENT OR INGREDIENTS
THAT WERE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED OR THAT  THE  TERM  "GENETICALLY  ENGI-
NEERED" BE PLACED IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING ANY COMMON NAME OR PRIMARY PROD-
UCT DESCRIPTOR OF A FOOD.

A. 4233                             3

  S  266-C.  MISBRANDING OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD AS "NATURAL". IN
ADDITION TO ANY DISCLOSURE REQUIRED BY SECTION TWO  HUNDRED  SIXTY-SIX-B
OF  THIS  ARTICLE, IF A FOOD MEETS ANY OF THE DEFINITIONS IN SUBDIVISION
(C) OR (D) OF SECTION TWO HUNDRED SIXTY-SIX-A OF THIS  ARTICLE,  AND  IS
NOT   OTHERWISE   EXEMPTED  FROM  LABELING  UNDER  SECTION  TWO  HUNDRED
SIXTY-SIX-D OF THIS ARTICLE, THE FOOD MAY NOT IN NEW YORK, ON ITS LABEL,
ACCOMPANYING SIGNAGE IN A RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT, OR IN ANY ADVERTISING OR
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS, STATE  OR  IMPLY  THAT  THE  FOOD  IS  "NATURAL,"
"NATURALLY  MADE,"  "NATURALLY  GROWN,"  "ALL  NATURAL," OR ANY WORDS OF
SIMILAR IMPORT THAT WOULD HAVE ANY TENDENCY TO MISLEAD ANY CONSUMER.
  S  266-D.  EXEMPTIONS.  THE  REQUIREMENTS  OF  SECTION   TWO   HUNDRED
SIXTY-SIX-B OF THIS ARTICLE SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:
  (A)  FOOD  CONSISTING ENTIRELY OF, OR DERIVED ENTIRELY FROM, AN ANIMAL
THAT HAS NOT ITSELF BEEN GENETICALLY ENGINEERED, REGARDLESS  OF  WHETHER
SUCH  ANIMAL  HAS  BEEN  FED OR INJECTED WITH ANY GENETICALLY ENGINEERED
FOOD OR ANY DRUG THAT HAS BEEN PRODUCED THROUGH MEANS OF  GENETIC  ENGI-
NEERING.
  (B)  A  RAW  AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY OR FOOD DERIVED THEREFROM THAT HAS
BEEN GROWN, RAISED, OR PRODUCED WITHOUT THE KNOWING AND INTENTIONAL  USE
OF  GENETICALLY  ENGINEERED  SEED  OR  FOOD.  FOOD  WILL BE DEEMED TO BE
DESCRIBED IN THE PRECEDING SENTENCE ONLY IF THE PERSON OTHERWISE RESPON-
SIBLE FOR COMPLYING WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF SUBDIVISION (A) OF  SECTION
TWO  HUNDRED  SIXTY-SIX-B OF THIS ARTICLE WITH RESPECT TO A RAW AGRICUL-
TURAL COMMODITY OR FOOD OBTAINS, FROM WHOEVER SOLD THE COMMODITY OR FOOD
TO THAT PERSON, A SWORN STATEMENT THAT SUCH COMMODITY OR FOOD:  (I)  HAS
NOT BEEN KNOWINGLY OR INTENTIONALLY GENETICALLY ENGINEERED; AND (II) HAS
BEEN  SEGREGATED  FROM,  AND  HAS  NOT  BEEN  KNOWINGLY OR INTENTIONALLY
COMMINGLED WITH, FOOD THAT MAY HAVE BEEN GENETICALLY ENGINEERED  AT  ANY
TIME.  IN  PROVIDING  SUCH  A  SWORN STATEMENT, ANY PERSON MAY RELY ON A
SWORN STATEMENT FROM HIS OR HER OWN SUPPLIER THAT CONTAINS THE  AFFIRMA-
TION SET FORTH IN THE PRECEDING SENTENCE.
  (C)  ANY  PROCESSED  FOOD THAT WOULD BE SUBJECT TO SECTION TWO HUNDRED
SIXTY-SIX-B OF THIS ARTICLE SOLELY  BECAUSE  IT  INCLUDES  ONE  OR  MORE
GENETICALLY ENGINEERED PROCESSING AIDS OR ENZYMES.
  (D) ANY ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE.
  (E) UNTIL JULY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE, ANY PROCESSED FOOD THAT
WOULD  BE  SUBJECT  TO  SECTION  TWO HUNDRED SIXTY-SIX-B OF THIS ARTICLE
SOLELY BECAUSE IT INCLUDES ONE OR MORE GENETICALLY  ENGINEERED  INGREDI-
ENTS,  PROVIDED  THAT:   (I) NO SINGLE SUCH INGREDIENT ACCOUNTS FOR MORE
THAN ONE-HALF OF ONE PERCENT OF THE TOTAL WEIGHT OF SUCH PROCESSED FOOD;
AND (II) THE PROCESSED FOOD DOES NOT CONTAIN MORE THAN TEN SUCH INGREDI-
ENTS.
  (F) FOOD THAT AN INDEPENDENT ORGANIZATION HAS DETERMINED HAS NOT  BEEN
KNOWINGLY AND INTENTIONALLY PRODUCED FROM OR COMMINGLED WITH GENETICALLY
ENGINEERED  SEED  OR  GENETICALLY  ENGINEERED  FOOD,  PROVIDED THAT SUCH
DETERMINATION HAS BEEN MADE PURSUANT TO A SAMPLING AND TESTING PROCEDURE
APPROVED IN REGULATIONS ADOPTED BY THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE  AND
MARKETS.  NO  SAMPLING  PROCEDURE  SHALL  BE  APPROVED BY THE DEPARTMENT
UNLESS SAMPLING IS DONE ACCORDING TO A STATISTICALLY VALID SAMPLING PLAN
CONSISTENT WITH PRINCIPLES  RECOMMENDED  BY  INTERNATIONALLY  RECOGNIZED
SOURCES  SUCH  AS THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ORGANIZATION (ISO) AND THE
GRAIN AND FEED TRADE ASSOCIATION (GAFTA). NO TESTING PROCEDURE SHALL  BE
APPROVED  BY  THE  DEPARTMENT UNLESS: (I) IT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE MOST
RECENT "GUIDELINES ON PERFORMANCE CRITERIA AND VALIDATION OF METHODS FOR
DETECTION, IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF SPECIFIC  DNA  SEQUENCES
AND  SPECIFIC  PROTEINS  IN  FOODS," (CAC/GL 74 (2010)) PUBLISHED BY THE

A. 4233                             4

CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION; AND (II) IT DOES NOT RELY ON  TESTING  OF
PROCESSED FOODS IN WHICH NO DNA IS DETECTABLE.
  (G) FOOD THAT HAS BEEN LAWFULLY CERTIFIED TO BE LABELED, MARKETED, AND
OFFERED  FOR  SALE  AS  "ORGANIC"  PURSUANT  TO THE FEDERAL ORGANIC FOOD
PRODUCTS ACT OF 1990 AND THE REGULATIONS PROMULGATED PURSUANT THERETO BY
THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
  (H) FOOD THAT IS NOT PACKAGED FOR RETAIL SALE AND THAT EITHER: (I)  IS
A  PROCESSED  FOOD PREPARED AND INTENDED FOR IMMEDIATE HUMAN CONSUMPTION
OR (II) IS SERVED, SOLD, OR OTHERWISE  PROVIDED  IN  ANY  RESTAURANT  OR
OTHER  FOOD  FACILITY  THAT  IS  PRIMARILY  ENGAGED  IN THE SALE OF FOOD
PREPARED AND INTENDED FOR IMMEDIATE HUMAN CONSUMPTION.
  (I) MEDICAL FOOD.
  S 266-E. ENFORCEMENT. THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS  MAY
INSTITUTE  SUCH  ACTION  AT  LAW OR IN EQUITY AS MAY APPEAR NECESSARY TO
ENFORCE COMPLIANCE WITH ANY PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE OR OF  THE  RULES
AND  REGULATIONS  PROMULGATED  THEREUNDER, AND, IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER
REMEDY UNDER ARTICLE THREE OF THE AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS LAW OR  OTHER-
WISE,  MAY  APPLY  FOR  RELIEF BY INJUNCTION IF NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE
PUBLIC INTEREST WITHOUT BEING COMPELLED  TO  ALLEGE  OR  PROVE  THAT  AN
ADEQUATE  REMEDY  AT LAW DOES NOT EXIST. SUCH APPLICATION MAY BE MADE TO
THE SUPREME COURT IN ANY DISTRICT OR COUNTY AS  PROVIDED  IN  THE  CIVIL
PRACTICE  LAW  AND  RULES, OR TO THE SUPREME COURT IN THE THIRD JUDICIAL
DISTRICT.
  S 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
have become a law.