Senators have a bipartisan deal to require labeling of genetically modified ingredients nationally, a week before a labeling law in Vermont goes into effect.
The deal announced Thursday by the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee would require the nationwide labeling of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, in packaged foods for the first time. But it would be more lenient than Vermont's law, allowing food companies to use a text label, a symbol or electronic label accessed by smartphone. Vermont's law would require items to be labeled "produced with genetic engineering."
The agreement couldn't become law before Vermont's law kicks in July 1, since the House is on vacation until July 5. Legislation passed by the House would make the labeling voluntary, but that measure stalled in the Senate earlier this year.
Since then, Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., have worked to find a compromise, saying a national solution is needed in the face of separate state laws.
Groups that have advocated labeling criticized the deal.
"This proposal falls short of what consumers rightly expect — a simple at-a-glance disclosure on the package," said Gary Hirshberg, chairman of the advocacy group Just Label It and the organic food company Stonyfield Farm.
Source: www.allgov.com