State Rep. Jerry Neyer today called for Senate action on his plan to require clear labeling for products manufactured using lab-grown meat after an executive at Campbell’s Soup Company was fired after he made statements claiming the company uses bioengineered meat in their products.

“The internal controversy at Campbell’s Soup Company highlights exactly why we need lab-grown meat labeling requirements,” said Neyer, R-Shepherd. “The claims themselves aren’t the problem; this employee could very well be completely full of it. The problem is that without strict lab-grown meat labeling requirements like I’ve proposed, companies of any size could be cutting corners or putting bioengineered ingredients into our food without any transparency to the public. These requirements would protect consumers and businesses alike, to ensure everyone knows the rules and exactly what’s in their food.”

The now-fired executive was recently exposed for making the inflammatory statements in a recently released recording. The executive was caught saying he doesn’t purchase Campbell’s products after becoming aware of ingredients. He went on to claim that bioengineered meat from a ‘3-D printer’ was included in the food items.

Neyer’s House Bill 4076, which would require a clear and obvious label on all synthetically lab-grown “meat” products, passed the House with near-unanimous support earlier this year.

“I think the folks over at Campbell’s would agree with me on this; putting these lab-grown meat requirements into law would remove any doubt as to who is and is not using these ingredients in their products,” Neyer said. “Without labeling requirements, the public will never truly know if the chicken they’re buying is from a farm or a lab.”

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