A bipartisan team of U.S. Representatives has introduced the Recognizing Engineered Alternatives as Lab-Created (REAL) Butter Act (H.R. 9387), which seeks to require labels for lab-grown butter. Reps. Tony Wied (R-WI) and Josh Riley (D-NY) say the legislation would promote transparency, protect consumer choice and support dairy farmers. Wied said in a statement that lab-created butter is no longer hypothetical, pointing to Savor, a startup seeking to make butter with carbon dioxide rather than milk. “The REAL Butter Act would simply require that it be clearly labeled as ‘lab-created butter’ directly on the product,” he said. “America's dairy farmers put in the work every day to keep our families fed, our rural communities strong, and our agricultural heritage alive. They should not have to compete with products that hide behind vague or misleading labels.”

Read more stories in Issue 850 of the Food and Beverage Litigation and Regulatory Update >>