The U.S. Department of Agriculture has rejected Iowa’s request to ban the use of SNAP benefits to purchase lab-grown meat or egg substitutes because The Gazette reportsrecently obtained the letter Wednesday denying the waiver.

The waiver request from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services stated that cultured proteins and egg substitutes “may not” be as nutritious as meat and eggs.

Iowa Republicans in favor of the measure also expressed concerns about lab-grown products that endanger Iowa poultry breeders and producers.

The USDA denied the request, saying it had not provided information on how it would increase the nutrition levels of Iowans or how the state would measure the effects of the ban on laboratory-grown products.

The USDA also stated that the waiver request did not meet any of the four criteria required for a waiver, namely:

• Improve program administration
• Increasing the self-sufficiency of SNAP recipients
• Testing innovative social protection reform strategies
• Allow greater compliance with the rules of other programs

The waiver was denied in a letter from the USDA to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services on July 12, but The Gazette just received the letter earlier this week.

Neither Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds nor Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Director Kelly Garcia responded to The Gazette’s request for comment Thursday.

The Iowa Legislature passed Senate File 2391, which bans meat and egg substitutes, last spring.

The new law also prohibits serving lab-grown meat alternatives in Iowa school meals.