Des Moines, Iowa — The Iowa House has added eggs to a bill about meat labeling.
The bill started in the Iowa Senate and it outlines penalties for food processors that do not clearly label plant-based or lab-grown proteins as meat ALTERNATIVES. House Republicans say the penalties should also apply to fabricated eggs marketed as egg substitutes. Representative Norlin Mommsen, a Republican from DeWitt who raises cattle, says these products are trying to ride the coattails of farmers.
Representative Heather Hora of Washington, says Iowa farmers who bring nutritious real meat and eggs to market deserve truthful and transparent labeling.
House Democrats say they support Iowa farmers and accurate food labels, but they oppose a section House Republicans added to the bill. It says low-income Iowans will not be able to use federal food assistance to buy egg substitutes if the USDA lets Iowa enforce that policy. Representative Ako Abdul-Samad, a Democrat from Des Moines, says that’s a step too far.
Representative Sharon Steckman, a Democrat from Mason City, says about two percent of all children are allergic to eggs. ]
New FEDERAL rules require any meat, poultry or eggs labeled as a product of the USA to have come from animals born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States.
