HB163: HB163 Food service establishments; certain food products be disclosed as containing cell cultured meat and plant based meat alternatives; require

Georgia law currently has no specific rule requiring restaurants to tell customers when a dish contains lab-grown, or 'cell cultured,' meat instead of meat from a traditional animal carcass. This bill adds a new section to the state's food service establishment law (O.C.G.A. § 26-2-378.1) to close that gap. The bill defines cell cultured meat as a food product artificially grown from animal cell cultures that is designed to look, taste, or otherwise resemble conventional meat. It requires any food service establishment that serves food containing cell cultured meat to clearly disclose that fact on menus, including electronic menus, printed menus, and placard displays used in advertising. It also prohibits labeling, advertising, or representing cell cultured meat products as if they were conventional meat, which the bill defines as food made wholly or partly from the carcass of animals like cattle, swine, sheep, goats, fish, shellfish, or poultry.

• Adds a new Georgia Code section (O.C.G.A. § 26-2-378.1) defining 'cell cultured meat' as food artificially grown from animal cell cultures meant to resemble conventional meat.
• Requires food service establishments serving cell cultured meat products to disclose that fact conspicuously on all menus and advertising placards, print or electronic.
• Bans labeling, advertising, or representing cell cultured meat as a conventional meat product made from an animal carcass.
• Defines 'conventional meat product' to include foods made wholly or partly from cattle, swine, sheep, goats, fish, shellfish, and poultry that do not contain cell cultured meat.
• Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with these new disclosure and labeling rules.

Restaurants and other food service establishments that sell food containing cell cultured (lab-grown) meat, their customers who read menus and advertising, and any companies producing or marketing cell cultured meat products in Georgia.

Diners at Georgia restaurants would get a clear, required notice on menus or placards whenever a dish contains lab-grown meat, and businesses could face legal exposure if they market such products as ordinary meat, changing how these foods can be advertised and sold in the state.

• Section 1 adds O.C.G.A. § 26-2-378.1, defining 'cell cultured meat' as a product artificially grown from animal muscle or organ cell cultures designed to share sensory traits with conventional meat.
• Subsection (a) also defines 'conventional meat product' as food made wholly or partly from an animal carcass (cattle, swine, sheep, goats, fish, shellfish, poultry) that does not contain cell cultured meat, and ties 'poultry' to the definition in O.C.G.A. § 26-2-410.
• Subsection (b) requires all food service establishments serving cell cultured meat products to conspicuously disclose that fact on physical menus, electronic menus, and advertising placards.
• Subsection (c) prohibits labeling, advertising, or representing any food product containing cell cultured meat as a conventional meat product.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting Georgia laws.

1. 2026-02-06Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
2. 2026-02-05Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
3. 2025-02-28Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
4. 2025-02-27House Passed/Adopted (House)
5. 2025-02-27House Third Readers (House)
6. 2025-02-12House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
7. 2025-01-30House Second Readers (House)
8. 2025-01-29House First Readers (House)

• Jordan Ridley (R, HD-022)Primary sponsor
• Jason Ridley (R, HD-006)
• Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)
• Kasey Carpenter (R, HD-004)
• Brent Cox (R, HD-028)
• Mitchell Horner (R, HD-003)
• Jason T. Dickerson (R, SD-021)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 27, 2025

   161 yea, 3 nay (3 not voting, 13 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #109

• food labeling
• lab-grown meat
• restaurant regulations
• consumer protection
• cell cultured meat