Rule 3362-5-48 | Misbranded meat and egg products.
(A) Purpose
This rule establishes institutional requirements to ensure compliance with Ohio law governing the labeling, purchase, and use of alternative protein, imitation meat, and imitation egg products, consistent with Ohio House Bill 10 of the 136th General Assembly and the Revised Code.
(B) Scope of authority
This rule applies to:
(1) All university culinary, dining, and catering services;
(2) All departments purchasing food products for institutional use;
(3) All campus retail food operations;
(4) Any university-sponsored meal programs;
(5) All employees involved in food procurement, preparation, or distribution.
(C) Definitions
(1) For the purposes of this rule:
(a) "Cultivated-protein product." A food having one or more sensory attributes that resemble a type of tissue originating from an agricultural food animal, but that, in lieu of being derived from meat processing, is derived from manufacturing cells in which one or more stem cells are initially isolated from an agricultural food animal, are grown in vitro, and may be manipulated, as part of a manufacturing operation.
(b) "Qualifying meat term." A word, compound word, or phrase that would clearly disclose to a reasonable purchaser of meat products from a food processing establishment that a food is not a meat product. "Qualifying meat term" includes cell-cultivated, cell-cultured, fake, grown in a lab, imitation, insect, insect-based, insect-protein, lab-created, lab-grown, meat free, meatless, plant, plant-based, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian, veggie, or a comparable word or phrase as approved by the department.
(c) "Qualifying egg term." A word, compound word, or phrase that would clearly disclose to a reasonable purchaser of egg products from a food processing establishment that a food product is not an egg product. "Qualifying egg term" includes fake, imitation, egg-free, plant, plant-based, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian, veggie, or a comparable word or phrase as approved by the state department of agriculture.
(2) To the extent that the Ohio general assembly may in the future revise definitions used in this rule, the rule shall be deemed to be amended to conform to the then-existing statutory definition(s).
(D) Misbranded food products
(1) Meat products. Food is considered misbranded as a meat product if all of the following apply:
(a) The food is a manufactured-protein food product or contains a manufactured-protein food product;
(b) The food is offered for sale by a food processing establishment;
(c) A label that is part of or placed on the package or other container storing the manufactured-protein food product includes an identifying meat term; and
(d) The label that is part of or placed on the package or other container storing the manufactured-protein food product does not contain a conspicuous and prominent qualifying meat term in close proximity to the identifying meat term.
(2) Egg products. Food is considered misbranded as an egg product if all of the following apply:
(a) The food is a fabricated-egg product or contains a fabricated-egg product;
(b) The food is offered for sale or sold by a food processing establishment;
(c) A label that is part of or placed on the package or other container storing the food includes an identifying egg term; and
(d) The label that is part of or placed on the package or other container storing the food does not contain a conspicuous and prominent qualifying egg term in close proximity to an identifying egg term.
(E) Purchasing restrictions
(1) Shawnee state university shall not purchase cultivated-protein products for institutional meal programs as defined herein and in section 3715.601 of the Revised Code.
(2) Shawnee state university departments may not procure misbranded imitation meat or egg products using university funds.
(3) All purchasing must comply with applicable state requirements and university procurement policies.
(F) Research and academic exceptions
Cultivated protein products as described in this rule may be purchased or used solely for academic instruction, scientific research, or demonstration purposes, provided such products are not served as part of a meal program and are clearly identified as research materials.
(G) Enforcement
Shawnee state university is committed to active enforcement of this rule and to ensuring all procurement and campus food operations comply with applicable Ohio law.
Last updated May 1, 2026 at 8:09 AM
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