FDA says it will finalize voluntary GMO labeling 'soon'
WASHINGTON,
March 28, 2014 – FDA will soon finalize its voluntary guidance on genetically
engineered food labeling, agency Commissioner Margaret Hamburg told the House
Appropriations Committee yesterday.
“We have
supported voluntary labeling and we put out a proposed guidance with respect to
plant-based modified foods and we hope to finalize that soon,” Hamburg said in
response to a question from Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.
“The way that
over many, many years FDA had interpreted the law – and its been supported by
the courts – is that mandatory labeling really is appropriate and required when
there is a false claim or misbranding,” Hamburg said. “The fact that the food
contains [genetically engineered] materials does not constitute a material
change in the product.”
Hamburg
acknowledged, however, that the issue of genetically engineered food labeling
has been controversial. “This is an area that obviously very much on the mind
of many Americans,” she said.
In 2001, FDA
issued a voluntary
guidance allowing companies to label their foods as free from GMO’s as long
as the labels meet certain federal requirements. The guidance, however, has to
be finalized.
In the interim,
the food industry has proposed its own voluntary GMO
labeling legislation. The Grocery
Manufacturers Association says the effort is an attempt to cut down on what
it says is misinformation about genetically modified foods – namely, that they
are dangerous to human health.
In June
2012, the American Medical Association came
out against GMO labeling. “There is no
scientific justification for special labeling of bioengineered foods, as a
class, and…voluntary labeling is without value unless it is accompanied by
focused consumer education,” the group said in a statement.
State GMO
labeling initiatives in California and Washington were rejected by voters in
2012 and 2012. Though Maine and Connecticut both passed labeling initiatives last
year, those laws will only take effect should other contiguous states pass
similar legislation.
Others,
including Vermont, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona are expected to consider
their own labeling bills this year.
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