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UPDATE: 3/5/2024 - HB 736 died, it failed to be scheduled for a hearing in the House Public Health and Human Services Committee before the deadline to be reported of 3/5/2024.
HB 736 was introduced in the House and referred to the House Public Health and Human Services Committee on 1/29/2024. This bill is sponsored by Representative Dan Eubanks.
HB 736 prohibits the manufacture, sale, delivery, holding, or offering for sale food containing mRNA vaccine or vaccine material unless it is conspicuously labeled. It also defines "mRNA vaccine" and allows for foods that do not contain mRNA materials to be labeled "mRNA free" or a "similar designation."
HB 736 amends Section 75-35-15 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, regarding the labeling of meat or meat food products, to create the following new subsections, as summarized below:
Paragraph 6. prohibits the manufacture, sale, delivery, holding, or offering for sale food containing mRNA vaccine or vaccine material unless it contains a conspicuous notification of the presence of the vaccine or vaccine material in the food. This section also defines "mRNA vaccine or vaccine material" as "a substance intended for use in humans 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."
Paragraph 7. establishes that nothing prohibits a person from labeling meat or a meat product as "mRNA free" or any similar designation if the animals from which the meat or meat product was derived were not administered an mRNA vaccine or vaccine material.
If passed, HB 736 would become effective on July 1, 2024.
NVIC SUPPORTS HB 736 because it protects a person's right to informed consent when choosing meat products so that they are not being exposed to an mRNA vaccine-containing product without their knowledge or consent. Every individual has the right to informed consent regarding receiving a vaccination or ingesting vaccine materials. Labeling food products that include mRNA materials allows the consumer to know whether a vaccine product is in the food they are considering purchasing so that they can make an informed decision on whether or not to buy it. All vaccines are pharmaceutical products that can cause injury or even death, so there is a legitimate concern there could also be an adverse outcome from ingesting an mRNA vaccine product through vaccine-contaminated meat. There is insufficient data to determine the safety of administering an mRNA vaccine product to individuals via their food supply. An improvement to this bill would be to add a penalty for manufacturers who do not adhere to the labeling requirements.
https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2024/pdf/history/HB/HB0736.xml - text, status, and history of HB 736
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