The Virginia General Assembly is currently reviewing proposed legislation that would impose specific labeling requirements on plant-based, cell-cultured, and other non-traditional meat products. Senate Bill 186, introduced by Senator Angelia Williams Graves (D–District 21), seeks to define and regulate what it terms “misbranded” meat and poultry products.
Under the proposed bill, any food item marketed as a meat or poultry product but containing a “manufactured-protein food product,” a category encompassing plant-based, cell-cultured, insect-based, and fungus-derived proteins, would be required to include a conspicuous qualifying term on its label. Acceptable descriptors could include terms such as “plant-based,” “vegan,” “cell-cultured,” or “meatless,” and must appear in close proximity to meat-identifying terms like “beef,” “chicken,” or “pork.”
No ban, but financial penalties for noncompliance
The bill does not seek to prohibit the sale of alternative protein products, but rather to mandate label clarity to prevent consumer misunderstanding. The legislation specifies that labeling omissions would be treated as violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act and would carry a civil penalty of up to $500 per misbranded product. The Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services would have authority to implement tiered penalties for repeat violations, not exceeding $500 per instance.
Food products containing only trace amounts of manufactured protein may be exempted from the labeling rule if the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services determines that the quantity is negligible.
Supposed “unease” over cell lines
The Center for the Environment and Welfare (CEW), which has monitored the cultivated meat sector since 2023, supports the proposal, citing consumer right-to-know principles. “Shoppers have a right to know what they are buying at the grocery store,” said CEW Executive Director Jack Hubbard to 13 News Now. He pointed to public concerns surrounding cell-cultured meats, including what he described as unease over the use of “immortalized cells” in the production process and the absence of long-term health data.
However, critics have questioned CEW’s neutrality in this policy debate. The organization is funded and led by Berman and Company, a Washington D.C.–based public relations firm known for representing conventional meat and other incumbent industry interests.
The proposed legislation, currently in committee, would require passage by both chambers of the General Assembly and the governor’s approval to become law. Civil penalties collected under the statute would be directed to the state treasury for use by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
“Clear federal rules already exist”
The Good Food Institute (GFI) explained that cultivated meat products are already subject to rigorous regulatory oversight. Pepin Andrew Tuma, GFI’s Vice President of Policy & Government Relations, stated, “The Good Food Institute fully supports giving consumers clear, honest information about their food, and that’s already how cultivated meat is being sold. These products are reviewed and regulated by both the FDA and USDA before they ever reach store shelves, ensuring their safety and making them some of the most closely regulated foods on the market.
“Cultivated meat is produced in a clean, controlled environment, without antibiotics and without exposure to contaminants like microplastics or heavy metals. With clear federal labeling rules already in place, consumers know exactly what they’re buying.”
Virginia joins a growing number of US states considering or enacting legislation related to the labeling of alternative proteins, including Georgia, South Dakota, South Carolina and Texas.
