US Food Industry Changes Tack on GM Labelling

18 May 2015 --- The debate in the US over whether and how to label food containing genetically modified organisms, or rather how to label foods that do not contain GMOs, stepped up a gear last week. US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack appeared to leak details of a new scheme, under which food processors can verify their products GMO-free.

The latest chapter in the GMO debate comes after the Grocery Manufacturers Association announced that it is to appeal the ruling that food products in the state of Vermont should be labelled as containing GMOs if they do, which many food manufacturers are opposed to.

In an internal letter sent to employees on May 1 and obtained by the Associated Press, Vilsack appeared to outline plans that USDA would soon introduce a new government certification and labeling program in which companies can pay USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to verify that their products are non-GMO. If approved, the food maker would be able to add a “USDA Process Verified” label to support non-GMO claims on product packaging.

Vilsack said the certification program was created at the request of a “leading global company,” which he did not identify.

"Recently, a leading global company asked AMS to help verify that the corn and soybeans it uses in its products are not genetically engineered so that the company could label the products as such," Vilsack wrote in the letter. "AMS worked with the company to develop testing and verification processes to verify the non-GE claim."

According to the Associated Press, a USDA spokesman confirmed that Vilsack sent the letter but declined to comment on the non-GMO certification program. Vilsack stated in the letter that the certification program "will be announced soon, and other companies are already lining up to take advantage of this service."

The label is a first for the government, and may or may not help resolve the ongoing debate over the safety of GMO foods or their impact on the environment. What it seems to offer is an alternative to non-GMO certification, which has been conducted primarily by one organization: the non-profit Non-GMO Project.

The Non-GMO project responded to the leaked letter on its website, saying that the possibility of a non-GMO standard is not on the table:

"Today’s news is that for the first time a company has sought the USDA’s Process Verified label in connection with its non-GMO claim. The USDA has NOT created its own non-GMO standard or label. Rather, as part of the existing AMS PVP, it has signed off on one company’s own non-GMO practices. There is no transparency as to what these practices are, and they are not based on a third party standard.”

As the debate continues, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) was keen to point out that GM foods are in fact, not dangerous or unhealthy, and that the government should tread carefully when supporting or making any non-GMO claims.

CSPI Biotechnology Director Greg Jaffe, said, “The verified ‘non-GMO’ program announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture may constitute a first step out of the morass posed by the state-by-state debates over labeling of foods with genetically engineered ingredients. It could provide consumers who wish to purchase foods where none of the ingredients came from an engineered crop with assurance that such a claim is accurate and approved by the government. However, USDA should ensure that any ‘non-GMO’ claim be as neutral as possible and that food companies using that claim do not try to convince consumers that those products are somehow superior or safer than their GMO equivalents in any way. There is a strong international consensus that current engineered crops and food ingredients made from those crops are safe and there is no safety reason for consumers to avoid products with ingredients from biotech crops.”