Since its inception in 2007, the Non-GMO Project has advocated for meaningful, mandatory labeling of GMOs. And we are not alone: *65% of Americans believe GMOs should be labeled. So when the incoming federal labeling law for bioengineered (BE) foods was released, we hoped it would meet the public’s desire for transparency.
We were disappointed. The BE labeling law, as written and passed in 2016, overlooks many products made from GMOs, making it insufficient. Meanwhile, labeling guidelin... Read more
The USDA issued its final rule for the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) today, to be published in the Federal Register on December 21, 2018. The Non-GMO Project is disappointed by the content of the final rule, which jeopardizes GMO transparency for Americans. The NBFDS demonstrates that only the Non-GMO Project provides the transparent labeling consumers have been demanding for more than 20 years.
In its current form, categorical exemptions prevent this law from delive... Read more
On May 3rd, the USDA released its long-awaited draft of a National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, pursuant to a law passed in July 2016. While there are many aspects of the draft that warrant comment (check out our complete list here), one thing that is particularly outrageous is the terminology proposed. Under the proposed rule, it would become illegal to make a GMO disclosure using anything other than these two terms: bioengineered and "BE." In order to help establish just how mislead... Read more
On May 18th, Whole Foods Market announced an update to its GMO Labeling Policy. Specifically, in light of the USDA’s recently released draft rule on a National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, Whole Foods has paused its September 1, 2018 compliance deadline while remaining firm on its commitment to verification of non-GMO claims.
The scope of the retailer’s original policy, announced in March 2013, was a requirement for suppliers of food products to label products that contain ... Read more
NutraSource Diagnostics’ program for vitamins and supplements could mislead consumers
On Monday, NutraSource Diagnostics announced a new non-GMO labeling program for vitamins and supplements. Based on testing of finished products and ingredients, the program, called IGEN, has three tiers. In the absence of a published standard the technical details are vague, but the information available seems to suggest that the IGEN Program has critical shortcomings and could potentially mislead consumer... Read more
By Non-GMO Project Executive Director Megan Westgate.
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On July 29th, 2016, a historically discriminatory and fatally flawed mandatory GMO labeling bill was signed into federal law in the United States. The legislation, dubbed by opponents as “the DARK Act” originated from a motivation to preempt states’ ability to require meaningful GMO labeling.
Below are our answers to common industry questions about the new legislation and its relationship to the Non-GMO Project. You... Read more
Earlier this year, the FDA announced plans to finalize guidance on "Voluntary Labeling Indicating Whether Foods Have or Have Not Been Developed Using Bioengineering" (see 4.1.11 in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) Plan for Program Priorities, 2013-2014).
Given that the last draft of the guidance was issued nearly 13 years ago, based on focus group research from the year 2000, the appropriate action toward finalization would be for the FDA to update the guidance and ope... Read more
[caption id="attachment_3509" align="alignright" width="254"] Dr. Phil Bereano[/caption]
By the close of its 39th session, the United Nations' Codex Alimentarius Commission was poised to adopt Labeling Guidelines for GMO foods that will provide some protection from the World Trade Organization for national-scale GMO-labeling programs around the world. The Non-GMO Project sponsored activist Phil Bereano's participation in this session, and in so doing helped to ensure that the voices of the Ac... Read more
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Naomi Starkman
Consumers Union
nstarkman@gmail.com
917.539.3924-c
Position Will Create Problems for American Producers to Label Products GM/GE-Free Upcoming International Codex Meeting to Discuss Food Labeling, May 3
Yonkers, NY—Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, and more than 80 farmers, public health, environmental, and organic food organizations today sent a letter to Michael R. Taylor, Deputy Commissioner for Food at th... Read more
When we were getting the Project started, the thing that motivated me the most was the need to preserve non-GMO choices in the food supply, because they were disappearing. There weren't going to be any non-GMO choices if we didn’t do something.
— Megan Westgate, Non-GMO Project Executive Director
The Non-GMO Project Standard is the guiding document for our work protecting and building the non-GMO food supply. Every two years, the Standard is revised and strengthened to address the chal... Read more
On January 1, 2022, the federal Bioengineered (BE) Food labeling law will take full effect. Under the BE labeling law, certain food products that are made with GMOs will require a disclosure of bioengineered ingredients.
The BE labeling law, known formally as the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard or NBFDS, was introduced in 2016 as a federal response to state-level GMO labeling campaigns. However, this law is not nearly as comprehensive as either the state laws it is meant t... Read more
The USDA has extended the public comment period for its proposed regulation of certain genetically engineered animals. Under its framework, the USDA would oversee these GMO animals and products from them, such as meat, eggs, milk or other derivatives, as they move throughout the supply chain. In our submission, outlined below, the Non-GMO Project explains why any regulation of genetically engineered animals must meet the public’s demands for GMO transparency and deliver the rigorous oversi... Read more
It’s not just grocery shoppers who are looking for Non-GMO Project Verified products — the brands you know and trust look for the Butterfly when they source ingredients too! As shoppers demand more transparency from food brands, brands are in turn demanding more transparency and more documentation from their suppliers. For the supply chain participants who make our favorite ingredients, this means proof of Non-GMO Project Verification is more important than ever before.
Non-GMO Project C... Read more
Consumers have been asking for GMO transparency for more than two decades. As store buying policies and federal regulations are catching up with consumer expectations, self-made GMO claims are no longer sufficient for clients in the natural food supply chain. As shoppers demand more transparency from food brands, brands are in turn demanding more transparency and more documentation from their suppliers. For supply chain participants, this means proof of Non-GMO Project Verification is more impor... Read more
As we welcome the roaring 20s, let’s revisit the major GMO-related happenings of the past year. 2019 rode in on the back of the National Bioengineering Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS), a piece of regulation born to confuse, confound and mystify. At the Non-GMO Project, we worked hard this year to provide the transparency and reliability the NBFDS lacks, releasing v.15 of our Standard (you can read the Standard here anytime). Now let’s review the action that occurred outside the building... Read more
Is it possible to create a non-GMO product using genetic engineering? While that might seem ludicrous to most of us, biotechnology companies have mounted an aggressive campaign to convince the world that the products of new genetic engineering techniques such as CRISPR are, in fact, non-GMO. Although this is completely unsupported by the scientific reality (more on that in a moment), developers of these products are so determined to distance themselves from the consumer rejection of GMOs tha... Read more
