Congress OKs bill requiring genetically modified food labels

In that GMO labeling bill, which is scheduled for a vote in the House this week, meat products would no longer be considered genetically modified because the animal ate feed that contained genetically modified ingredients.

A White House spokeswoman said the administration anticipated signing the bill in its current form.

The bill, S.764, allows companies to choose a text label, a symbol or a QR or bar code for GMO products.

Although the House passed a different, voluntary GMO-labeling bill in 2015 (HR 1599), that legislation stalled in the Senate earlier this year.

A patchwork of differing state labeling laws, each with their own requirements and exemptions, will increase consumer uncertainty, not resolve it, and be unworkable for America’s food producers.

Many consumer and environmental groups have nicknamed the looming mandate as the “Deny Americans the Right to Know”, or DARK Act, as the bill goes against the majority of Americans who support clear labeling for GMOs.

Consumers wanting to know if their foods contain genetically modified ingredients will be able to find out for the first time. It’s unclear whether this will impact the company’s existing GMO labels. If President Obama signs the bill, as he has signaled he intends to, the legislation would nullify Vermont’s mandatory GMO-labeling law and preempt any other similar state-led efforts. The Senate approved the measure on July 7 after months of negotiations with a range of food industry players.

“I have said this is the most important food and agriculture policy debate of the last 20 years”, said Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Pat Roberts (R-KS), who crafted the bill with Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). Many large companies had already begun printing packaging with the required labels in anticipation of the new rules.

The food industry says GMOs are safe and the labels could mislead people into thinking they aren’t.

The legislation pre-empts Vermont’s GMO labeling law, which went into effect on July 1.

Opponents of the legislation, including the consumer advocacy group U.S. Right to Know, urged Obama to veto the legislation.

“Food and beverage companies agree on the importance of making available to consumers the information they want about their products”.

The Hagstrom Report says Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack has been a big supporter of the smart-label technology included in the bill as a potential compromise to getting the labeling issue resolved.