Congress·In Committee·H.R. 8596

FAIR Labels Act of 2026

Food Labeling: New Rules for Lab-Grown and Plant-Based Meat

2 days ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

The FAIR Labels Act of 2026 is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It has been sent to the House Committees on Agriculture and Energy and Commerce for review. The bill is actively moving forward as it waits for these committees to consider its contents.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

This bill faces a difficult path because it only has support from one party so far and could be challenged by companies that make meat alternatives.

Key Points

This bill requires companies to clearly label lab-grown meat as cell-cultivated. The label must be easy to read and placed right next to the name of the food so shoppers know it was grown in a lab rather than raised on a farm.
Plant-based products that look like meat would also need new labels. They must be called plant-based alternative protein products and include a statement saying they do not contain real meat from a live animal.
The Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration would share the job of watching over these products. One agency would check the safety of the cells used to grow the meat while the other would inspect the final products and their labels.
This policy aims to help consumers know exactly what they are buying. Supporters say it prevents confusion between traditional farm-raised meat and newer alternatives made in labs or from plants.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Apr 30, 2026House

Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Apr 30, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

News

No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

FAIR Labels Act of 2026

Bill NumberHR 8596

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.