Food Groups Petition FDA on GMO Labeling

May 11, 2000

Several food organizations have asked the Food and Drug Administration to require that when companies label foods with or without genetically modified ingredients consumers are informed about what is meant by a "non-GMO" claim. Consumers can be led to believe the non-GMO food is superior to a food with a GMO ingredient when that is not the case, the groups say.

"Most, if not all, cultivated food crops, as well as animals and bacteria used in the production of food, have been genetically modified in some way," the petitioners told FDA. "The use of such claims (such as "GM free" or "non-GMO") therefore can imply that no genetic modification whatever has been used in the production of the food or food ingredients, which is not the case for most foods."

It may be misleading, "if not false," to suggest without qualification that foods with GMO "avoidance" claims are not themselves genetically modified since most foods are not so modified anyway, the groups said.

Citing the example of milk labeling "rBST free" (a reference to the use of bovine somatotropin or BST in milk production), the groups said without proper context, such a statement may be interpreted to imply that milk from untreated cows is safer or of higher quality than milk from BST-treated cows. In that case, FDA required a disclaimer that "no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rBST-treated and non-rBST-treated cows."

"In line with this reasoning, a similar disclaimer may be appropriate for GMO and GM `free’ and `non’ claims," the groups said.

Groups signing the petition were the Grocery Manufacturers of America, the Food Marketing Institute, the American Frozen Food Institute, the International Dairy Foods Association, the National Food Processors Association and the Snack Food Association.