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FDA Rejects Mandatory Genetic Engineering Labeling

Rosemary Gordon Posted by Rosemary Gordon|November 24, 2015

FDA announced the first approval for a genetically engineered animal intended for food, AquAdvantage Salmon. The agency also is issuing two guidances for manufacturers who wish to voluntarily label their products as containing ingredients from GE or non-GE sources: a draft guidance on labeling foods derived from Atlantic salmon, and a final guidance on foods derived from GE plants.

The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) President and CEO Andrew LaVigne made the following statement regarding FDA’s decision to reject a petition calling for mandatory labeling of foods made with GE organisms:

“We applaud the FDA’s decision to stand up for science and reject calls for mandatory labeling of GE foods. The FDA has made it clear — as it did in its 1992 policy — that there is insufficient evidence to suggest that foods derived from GE organisms differ from foods derived from non-GE organisms in any meaningful way, or that they present any greater safety concerns. ASTA continues to support voluntary labeling.”

According to FDA, foods derived from GE plants and animals must meet the same requirements, including safety and labeling requirements, as other foods. Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, FDA can only require additional labeling of foods derived from GE sources if there is a material difference — such as a different nutritional profile — between the GE product and its non-GE counterpart.

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“We recognize that some consumers are interested in knowing whether food ingredients are derived from GE sources,” said Susan Mayne, director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “The FDA is issuing two guidance documents that explain how food companies that want to voluntarily label their products can provide this information to consumers.”

These two guidance documents include a draft guidance on voluntary labeling indicating whether food has or has not been derived from GE Atlantic salmon and a final guidance on voluntary labeling indicating whether food has or has not been derived from GE plants.

Although companies can always voluntarily add labeling to their products as long as it’s truthful and not misleading, these guidances provide recommended actions for manufacturers who may wish to voluntarily label their products with information about whether the foods contain ingredients from GE sources.

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Rosemary Gordon is editor of American Vegetable Grower, a Meister Media Worldwide publication. See all author stories here.

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Avatar for shauram shauram says:
November 25, 2015 at 1:57 pm

I applaud the FDA ruling. The science is supportive of the safety of GE crops. There has never been any rules that prevent a company from advertising their products as being non-GE. If the FDA required labeling, then anti-GE groups would state, “there must be a problem with GE foods, or else they wouldn’t need a label.” Our society doesn’t need that anti-science approach in our discussions of food and food safety.

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Avatar for Seriously Seriously says:
November 25, 2015 at 4:18 pm

Seriously? What are you applauding? The fact that our bodies don’t understand and process GE foods period or the fact that GE foods cause ADD, Autism, Cancer etc. Do you have any idea what you are putting into your body as fuel. Your body can’t function at it’s fullest capacity if it’s digetive system is on overload attempting to process foreign ingredients it doesn’t recognize, ie GE indgredients. Regarding all of the crops that have been genetically modified to ward off insects, disease, drout etc. Ask yourself this, how well does your body process the food from these undestructable GE crops? Saying that GE foods are safe is an ignorant statement.

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Avatar for shauram shauram says:
December 7, 2015 at 10:29 am

Yes seriously. I make my decisions based on science and fact. Not emotion and wishful thinking.

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Avatar for Eric Holland Eric Holland says:
November 25, 2015 at 2:12 pm

It is so interesting the money the food and ag industry will spend to avoid labeling food as GE. If it is so amazingly good for us you would think the industry would want to make sure we all know whats included in the food we buy. consider all the fine marketing of food labeled “all natural” which means nothing, but consumers respond to it. So much of science exists for business to profit. Grow GE and eat all you want, but why so much fear to put a label on it if it cant be proven to be harmful? Last package I read stated all the ingredients included, though half of those are man made in a lab and people continue to eat them.

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Avatar for Sam Smith Sam Smith says:
November 25, 2015 at 2:33 pm

Have there ever been conclusive, 20 year conclusive, studies demonstrating that there are no short, mid or long term effects associated with genetically engineered food specific pesticides and herbicides? There are studies in Europe that demonstrate that genetically modified foods cause tumors in mice. GE food “products” are not what our body is built to eat. We are built to eat food. GE food is about money, not about health, welfare, or food. It’s about making someone a bunch of money at the laissez faire expense of the world and those who live in it. Comfort wins and health loses. Get obese. Eat in America. GE Salmon. God help us.

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Avatar for jm carome jm carome says:
November 26, 2015 at 1:39 pm

I think even creating GE foods for human or animal consumption is a Franken experiment. The rush to consumption ignores research protocols meant to protect consumers, after all Dolly did die young. The FDA’s behavior is a curse on the American public. Boycott any institutions which supports this ruling!

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Avatar for Tom Jackson Tom Jackson says:
December 1, 2015 at 8:55 am

Safe, not safe…that isn’t the issue. Consumers want to know, have a right to know, what they are eating. Why are
corporations so fearful of labels? This is about truth in labeling, not about the benefits or dangers of GMO.

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Avatar for Joe Orsi Joe Orsi says:
December 5, 2015 at 9:25 am

Hard to believe our society has now reached a point of messing with the genome of a salmon to artificially advance growth rates, etc. Bad precident. We have now opened a Pandora’s box with respect to GE introgression into complex life forms….where do you draw the line from here?

What gives an agency or company the right to withhold information from consumers? If there is nothing to hide, why hide it?

In Alaska, we have fought to keep our salmon stocks wild and sustainable. We have regulations that prohibit finfish aquaculture due to the concern over the negative impacts of cultured fish escaping from mariculture pens into the wild. Now we will have GM salmon to content with! I just hope GM salmon are not cultured on the West Coast where they could make their way into the Pacific Ocean…

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Avatar for Russell Russell says:
December 5, 2015 at 12:53 pm

Consumers have a right to know exactly what they are eating period! Anyone that thinks different just do not read the label. The FDA is a joke and are controlled by lobbyist just like the rest of government. The officials of FDA lack common sense and have a poor record for really protecting the public.

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Avatar for Russ Russ says:
December 5, 2015 at 7:31 pm

I was unable to find any studies from any country on the planet that claims GE food can cause anything other than heartburn for the growers who have to deal with the Frankenscienc that many people are claiming as true facts and really have no basis at all. I am sorry, but I trust the food and drug ADM a lot more than some crack pot that pumps out false claims with no proof or substantiation whatsoever. ADD, Autism, Cancer, ECT??????? Really?????? that would place GE foods as a larger danger than cigarettes and close to what some over the counter drugs can do. OK, I confess, I only used Google to search for actual tests done by actual food testing facilities, not reading the BS coming from people making claims but with no information to back it up. Sorry.

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