Federal GMO Labeling Bill under Consideration by the Senate

The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, H.R. 1599, which was passed by the House of Representatives by a large margin on July 23, was reported to the Senate and referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry for consideration.

The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act as passed by the House states that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must allow, but not require, genetically engineered food to be labeled as GMO. The bill would preempt state and local restrictions on GMOs or GMO food and labeling requirements.

The act also would require a developer of a bioengineered organism intended for use in or as food to submit a pre-market biotechnology notification to the FDA. The pre-market notification must include the developer's determination that food from, containing or consisting of the GMO is as safe as a comparable non-GMO food. For the GMO to be sold as food, the FDA must not object to the developer's determination. If the FDA determines there is a material difference between a GMO food and a comparable non-GMO food, the FDA may specify labeling that informs consumers of the difference.

The bill states that a food label may only claim that a food is non-GMO if the ingredients are subject to certain supply chain process controls. No food label may suggest that non-GMO foods are safer than GMO foods. A food may be labeled as non-GMO even if it is produced with a GMO processing aid or enzyme or derived from animals fed GMO feed or given GMO drugs.

by Rob Neenan, CLFP President & CEO

California League Of Food Producers