HB 817: Georgia Meat Transparency and Source Verification Act; enact

Georgia currently has no specific state law requiring producers who label meat as 'grassfed,' 'pasture-raised,' or 'regenerative' to prove those claims or disclose certain facts about their animals. This bill, called the Georgia Meat Transparency and Source Verification Act, would add a new section to Georgia's livestock dealer law (O.C.G.A. § 4-6-13) to change that. Large meat producers with at least $1 million in annual sales and poultry producers with at least $250,000 in annual sales who use these marketing labels would have to keep records tracing an animal's birth, ownership transfers, and compliance with USDA standards for at least five years. They would have to disclose in writing whether animals were ever sold at auction, culled, fed grain despite a grassfed label, or slaughtered after age five. Beef from cattle over five would need special labeling and disease testing. Poultry producers would have to test a portion of their flocks weekly for avian influenza. Violations carry civil penalties and possible loss of the right to market under these labels. The law would take effect January 1, 2026.

• Requires large-scale meat producers (over $1 million in annual sales) using labels like grassfed or pasture-raised to keep and retain for five years records tracing each animal's birth, ownership changes, and compliance documentation.
• Requires written disclosures at the point of sale, on packaging, and online stating whether livestock were sold at auction, culled, fed outside their marketed protocol, or slaughtered after age five.
• Requires special labeling and disease testing (including for prion diseases linked to mad cow disease) for beef from cattle older than five years at slaughter.
• Requires poultry producers using these marketing labels to test at least 3 percent of live flocks weekly for avian influenza and to notify the state and halt sales if a positive case is found.
• Requires producers marketing multiple species under these labels to keep separate tracking records and to provide online shoppers a QR code or digital sourcing record.
• Sets civil penalties of up to $5,000 per first violation and up to $10,000 for repeat violations, plus possible suspension or revocation of the right to market under these labels.

Large-scale Georgia meat producers of beef, pork, lamb, and goat and large-scale poultry producers that market products as grassfed, pasture-raised, or regenerative are directly affected. Georgia's Department of Agriculture would gain new recordkeeping, inspection, and enforcement duties, and consumers would see new disclosures on packaging and online listings.

Georgians buying meat marketed as grassfed, pasture-raised, or regenerative would gain access to disclosures about an animal's age, auction history, and feeding practices, and stricter testing for older cattle and avian flu. Producers meeting the size thresholds would face new recordkeeping burdens and potential fines for noncompliance.

• Section 2 states the bill's purpose: increasing transparency in marketing claims like grassfed or pasture-raised and adding public health safeguards for older cattle and poultry.
• Section 3 adds O.C.G.A. § 4-6-13, defining terms such as 'large-scale meat producer' ($1 million+ annual sales) and 'large-scale poultry producer' ($250,000+ annual sales).
• Subsection (b) requires large-scale meat producers to keep five years of records on livestock birth, ownership transfers, and compliance with USDA marketing standards.
• Subsection (c) requires written disclosures about auction history, culling, feed deviations, and slaughter age at the point of sale and online.
• Subsection (d) requires special labeling and prion-disease testing and tissue removal for beef from cattle over five years old.
• Subsection (e) requires poultry producers to test at least 3 percent of flocks weekly for avian influenza and to notify authorities and halt sales after a positive case.
• Subsection (g) sets civil penalties of up to $5,000 for a first violation and $10,000 for subsequent violations, plus possible suspension of marketing rights.
• Section 4 sets the effective date as January 1, 2026.

1. 2025-03-27House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2025-03-25House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2025-03-21House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)Patrocinador principal
• Steven Meeks (R, HD-178)
• Robert Dawson (D, HD-065)

• meat labeling
• food safety
• agriculture regulation
• avian influenza
• livestock sourcing