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UPDATE: 4/21/2023 - HB 32 failed to be heard in committee and SB SB 88 failed to be scheduled for committee hearing before session adjourned on 4/21/2023. However, bills in TN carry over from odd to even calendar years.
UPDATE: 2/14/2023 - HB 32 was taken off notice for calendar in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee on 2/14/2023. Taking a bill off notice means that it will no longer be heard in committee unless the sponsor of the bill re-calendars it.
UPDATE: 2/8/2023 - HB 32 was scheduled for a hearing in the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee on 2/14/2023 at 10:30 am in House Hearing Room III. Agenda: https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/videocalendars/VideoCalendarOrders.aspx?CalendarID=30179&GA=113
Video link here.
UPDATE: 1/26/2023 - HB 32 was referred to the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee.
UPDATE: 1/11/2023 - HB 32 was referred to the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee.
UPDATE: 1/20/2023 - SB 88 was referred to the Senate Health & Welfare Committee on 1/20/2023.
SB 88 was introduced on 1/10/2023. SB 88 is sponsored by Senator Hensley. HB 32 was introduced on 1/9/2023. HB 32 is sponsored by Representative Cepicky.
These bills would add the following new section to Tenn. Code Ann. § 53-1-103, Food, Drugs and Cosmetics Prohibited Acts,
(a) The following acts, and the causing of the following acts, within the state are prohibited:
The manufacture, sale, or delivery, holding, or offering for sale of any food that contains a vaccine or vaccine material unless the food labeling contains a conspicuous notification of the presence of the vaccine or vaccine material in the food.
The bill also adds the following definition of vaccine:
"Vaccine or vaccine material" means a substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against disease, prepared from the causative agent of a disease, its products, or a synthetic substitute, treated to act as an antigen without inducing the disease, that is authorized or approved by the United States food and drug administration.
This bill would take effect upon becoming a law if passed.
NVIC supports this bill because there is ongoing research into putting vaccines into some foods. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12071307/
However, the definition of vaccine or vaccine material in the bill as introduced would not include mRNA COVID-19 vaccines because they do not provide immunity against the disease. This bill should also prohibit any vaccine being included in food without labeling if it was considered to be a vaccine according to the CDC's definition of vaccine which is broader and would include more substances than the definition proposed in this bill. The CDC's definition states that a vaccine is "A preparation that is used to stimulate the body’s immune response against diseases. Vaccines are usually administered through needle injections, but some can be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose". Without this change, many vaccines according to the CDC definition of vaccine could still be allowed to be put into food without the required labeling in this bill.
Because we have already seen with COVID-19 vaccines that not all vaccines produce immunity. NVIC suggests changing the definition of "vaccine or vaccine material" to change the word "and" to "or" in this part of the definition: "substance to stimulate the production of antibodies and or provide immunity against disease."
https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0088&GA=113 - text, status and history for SB 88
https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0032&GA=113 - text, status and history for HB 32
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