GMO labels dropped

Newer food products that contain ingredients derived from GMOs must be without the GMO mark on the label. Newer foods will be labeled Genetically-Engineered (GE) instead of Genetically-Modified (GM). This is entirely to be able to increase purchases of GMO ingredients for food and feed products without informing the customer of their origin. These labeling standards are probably also to avoid the many situations where food products should be labeled with both GMO and GE. The final regulations are to remove GMO and GE and to only allow BE (Bio-Engineered). All these verbs tell that something has happened to these foods. Something that many store customers have difficulty understanding and that almost no media can convey.

GMO products no longer need to be labeled with GMO in the USA if they are highly refined (e.g. edible oils, confectionery and soft drinks). A new threshold has also been set for labeling goods with GMOs only if they contain more than 5% of unintentional GMO ingredients. New rules have also determined that clear labels on the packaging can be dropped and only QR codes can be used instead. QR codes will be able to provide information to anyone with a smartphone and reliable broadband. These technologies and conditions are lacking in the rural United States. These double standards prevent approx. one in three Americans from being able to read what they want to know about the foods they want to buy. On many shelves, the choice may consist of GE or GMO goods without this being visible without charged QR decryption technology to reveal.

The only easy way to be sure that the food is without GE, GMO or labeled as BE is to choose products labeled "non-GMO" or "organic". This has led to certain food chains in the USA, which have long specialized in organic and healthy food and which do not accept GMO products, have had a significant increase in turnover. Meanwhile, the food industry fights to get a natural image by hiding what their products contain or how they were made. The natural need for something that is natural to understand has led to some increase in the availability of food that is GMO-free. GMO-free food such as organic food is also better for health as well as the environment.

A list of feed and food products in the USA that have been labeled with GMO or GE and which will now be labeled as BE is: Pineapple, eggplant, cotton, apple, salmon, lucerne, corn, papaya, potato, rapeseed, soybean, squash, sugar beet. This is a list of BE food that will probably increase in number in the future with products made with GE technology such as CRISPR and TALEN. Feed is not covered by this law. Meat, eggs and dairy products from livestock fed with a GMO diet are without any obligation to inform this. BE must only be stamped on food for humans (not on food for livestock). Food from catering establishments and small producers must also be without any kind of BE label or notification.

In the EU, some products from livestock can be labeled with GMO-free feed. This may mean that everything else may have been fed GMO feed. GMO cultivation is prohibited in many EU countries, however, imports, especially feed from GMOs, are permitted in many countries. Some will therefore use GMO-free feed labels on their products for livestock. This could potentially take back some of the market share for those who process food from GMO-fed livestock. On the other hand, it can also be misleading, e.g. if GMO-free is used in a country that does not allow GMO feed anyway. Being GMO-free can be hard, as some counties in states in the USA may have experienced where they have been sued by the big GMO producing monopolies. This for having closed their products from their market.

 

Links:

New GMO label rules don't use the term GMO

Final GM food regulations likely to leave GMO-derived foods unlabelled

BE Disclosure

Related posts

en_USEnglish