Bio-engineered food, also referred to as genetically engineered (GE) or genetically modified (GM) are food for which the DNA of the source organism has been artificially modified in some way, ordinarily to alter traits of that organisms.
The first commercial GM crop have been sale in 1994; calgene produced a tomato for which ripening could be delayed. There have been many success stories for GM food, such as increasing yield, reduced wastage, increasing drought tolerance and reducing susceptibility to pests.
The most common GM crops on the market are soybean, corn, cotton, canola, and sugar beet. According to the Lesser, 2014 that a majority of processed food in grocery stores include at least one GM crop ingredient.
Recent reports found that 51% of 2,537 U.S.adults surveyed thought that the average person faces a serious health risk from food additives over their lifetime and 49% from those asked believed that food with GM ingredients are worse for one’s health that non-GM food. But these believes hard to prove due to lack of researches.
Current labeling policy;
Since 1992, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required labeling of GM food only if the food has a nutritional or food safety property that is significantly different from what consumers would be expect of that food. For example; if a new GM food includes a protein that may be an allergen not expected to be present, then it would have to be labeled.
In 2001, the FDA proposed voluntary guidelines for companies that choose to label food as to whether they do or do not contain GM ingredients if they see sufficient market opportunities for doing.
What is new??
In the U.S, GM crops are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in May 2018 planed requiring brand to declare any bio-engineered ingredients.
According the Dr. Durham; there are three significant drivers for the change in ruling regarding the labeling of bio-engineered food ingredients;
- Consumer right to know
- Safety
- Avoidance
When considering the labeling policies, the issue is that GM crops aren’t ingredients or additives. Genetic modification is a plant breeding process.
The new ruling aims to provide a mandatory, uniform disclosure standard for bio-engineered food to provide consistent information to consumers.
The aim of the legislation is not to imply safety or lack thereof bio-engineering food ingredients, but to supply the public with sufficient information to enable them to make their own choice as to whether they consume bio-engineered products.
Issues with new rule??
However it appear the issues to considering with mandatory labeling in the industry. They are;
- What percentage of a GM ingredient must be present in food before a label is required?
- Would meat, eggs and dairy products from animals fed GM feed crops require a label?
- Would food ingredients made using GM yeast or GM enzymes require a label?
- Would food served in restaurant or other food-service establishments require a label?
- How regulators verify claims that a food is or not genetically modified?
- What is the economic impact of mandatory labeling?
It is no doubt that consumer have a right to know what in their food, with considering health & safety, allergen reactions and religious or ethical reasons.
But industry in still argue against the mandatory labeling with straight forwarding the following point;
- Labels on GM food imply a warning about health effect, without clear verifiable evidence for differences in health effects between GM & conventional food.
However according to the USDA the implementation date for this new standard is January 1, 2020, expect for small food manufactures, whose implementation date is January 1, 2021. The mandatory compliance date is January, 2022 .
For brands that fail to meet the deadline it could prove costly as non-compliant products may be removed form shelves.
References
CNBC,2019.Government lays out the rules for labeling for genetically modified foods[online]Available at:< https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/20/usda-lays-out-the-rules-for-labeling-for-genetically-modified-foods.html> [Accessed 06 September 2019]
Colorado State University.Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods[pdf] Colorado State University.Available: at<https://extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/foodnut/09371.pdf> [Accessed 06 September 2019]
Lesser, W., Costs of labeling genetically modified food products in N.Y. state, 2014, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, http://dyson.cornell.edu/people/profiles/docs/LabelingNY.pdf
Food Desk 