GMO label

Labels on Genetically Engineered Food Coming Soon

On July 1, a law that requires labels on genetically engineered food takes effect in Vermont, but even before then, consumers across the U.S. will start seeing the words “produced with genetic engineering” or “partially produced with genetic engineering” on cans of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup, bags of M&Ms, and a large number of other packaged foods.

May 18, 2016 | Source: Yahoo Finance | by Consumer Reports

On July 1, a law that requires labels on genetically engineered food takes effect in Vermont, but even before then, consumers across the U.S. will start seeing the words “produced with genetic engineering” or “partially produced with genetic engineering” on cans of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup, bags of M&Ms, and a large number of other packaged foods.

That’s because Campbell Soup Company and Mars—along with Con Agra, General Mills, and Kellogg—recently announced they’d be labeling the genetically engineered food they produce nationwide, rather than labeling their products just for Vermont. Dannon, too, has said that it will label GMOs in its products by December 2017—or sooner, “if one state implements a GMO labeling requirement.”

For its Danimals, Dannon, and Okios brands, the company has also pledged to work towards including more non-GMO ingredients in its products. Within three years, the company says that cows that provide milk for its products will be given non-GMO feed.

And according to our colleagues at Consumerist, PepsiCo appears to be quietly putting GMO labels on their products. “Partially produced with genetic engineering” has been spotted on cans of Pepsi in New Hampshire and on bags of Lay’s Potato Chips in Yonkers, New York. (Frito-Lay is a subsidiary of PepsiCo.)

“These changes amount to a major win for consumers’ right to know what’s in their food,” says Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives at Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports.

These announcements represent a significant shift in the food industry’s position towards the labeling of genetically engineered food, also called GMO labeling. Led by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), these companies and others have pushed in the courts and in Congress to block Vermont’s law and prevent other states from initiating their own mandatory GMO labeling measures. But in January, Campbell said that it was dropping its opposition to national mandatory GMO labeling and that it would voluntarily label its products nationwide.

The other food companies made their announcements or changes to their labels after the Senate rejected a bill on March 16 that would have overturned Vermont’s law.