Extra labeling only confuses the consumer,’ biotech spokesman says

That the Food and Drug Administration is opposed to labeling foods that are genetically modified is no surprise anymore, but a report in the Washington Post indicates the FDA won’t even allow food producers to label their foods as being free of genetic modification.

In reporting that the FDA will likely not require the labeling of
genetically modified salmon if it approves the food product for
consumption, the Post‘s Lyndsey Layton notes that the federal
agency "won’t let conventional food makers trumpet the fact that their
products don’t contain genetically modified ingredients."

The agency warned the dairy industry in 1994 that it
could not use "Hormone Free" labeling on milk from cows that are not
given engineered hormones, because all milk contains some hormones.

It has sent a flurry of enforcement letters to food makers, including
B&G Foods, which was told it could not use the phrase "GMO-free" on
its Polaner All Fruit strawberry spread label because GMO refers to
genetically modified organisms and strawberries are produce, not
organisms.

It told the maker of Spectrum Canola Oil that it could not use a
label that included a red circle with a line through it and the words
"GMO," saying the symbol suggested that there was something wrong with
genetically engineered food.

"This to me raises questions about whose interest the FDA is protecting," House Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) told the Post. Kucinich has repeatedly introduced bills in the House that would require the labeling of genetically modified foods.

David Edwards, director of animal biotechnology at the Biotechnology Industry Organization, told the Post
that "extra labeling only confuses the consumer. … It differentiates
products that are not different. As we stick more labels on products
that don’t really tell us anything more, it makes it harder for
consumers to make their choices."

The Post notes that the debate over genetically modified
salmon, which will be decided at an FDA advisory panel meeting this
week, "comes at a time when Americans seem to want to know more about
their food – where it is grown, how it is produced and what it
contains."

"The public wants to know and the public has a right to know," New York University nutrition professor Marion Nestle told the Post. "I think the agency has discretion, but it’s under enormous political pressure to approve [the salmon] without labeling."