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USDA’s proposed rule offers options for bioengineered food that should be disclosed

The USDA is seeking public comment on the long-awaited proposed rule for food labels containing genetically modified ingredients. However, the proposal would label the food as bioengineered, not GMO.

Ryan Findlay, the CEO of the American Soybean Associations says bioengineered is an appropriate term that could help clear up confusion over GMOs.

“If people truly want to know what different process are for breeding; if people want to know what’s in their food; if people want to know the ingredients that are used and where products are coming from, then I think bioengineered is a really good approach to getting some of those questions asked and answered,” he says.

The Organic Consumers Association is unhappy that the proposed labels do NOT say anything about GMOs which was the intent of the legislation.

The bill mandating GMO labeling on food and beverages was signed into law into 2016 and gave the USDA two years to develop a national standard.

The proposed rule offers different options for determining the level of food that should be disclosed and how it should appear on the label. One option would allow the use of bioengineered ingredients up to 5 percent of the total weight of the product before it must be labeled as bioengineered.

The USDA also proposes creating two lists of bioengineered foods that would require labels. Refined ingredients, like oils and sugars, would not necessarily be on the list.

“That’s something that we support because it is not the bioengineered ingredient, it’s a derived product and through that processing aspect it’s removed,” he says.

The USDA is requesting public comment by July 3.

Audio: Ryan Findlay, American Soybean Association 

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