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Biotech labeling negotiations break down over GMO disclosure

[/title][fusion_text]Wednesday, February 10th 2016

The biotech labeling negotiations led by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack broke down over whether GMOs had to be disclosed on food labels or whether it would be enough to ensure that electronic disclosure would be adequate to serve consumers, he says. Vilsack, testifying before the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee on Thursday, made his first public comments about two days of meetings last month with representatives of organic companies and conventional food manufacturers. The Grocery Manufacturers Association is lobbying Congress to preempt state GMO labeling laws and to allow food companies to disclose biotech ingredients on the web and through smartphone-based system called SmartLabel. The talks never resolved what else might be required, Vilsack said. The first state labeling requirements take effect in Vermont this summer, and Vilsack warned that the law is going to create “uncertainty and confusion in the market,” as well as increased consumer costs. The House passed a bill last summer that would have blocked such laws, but the industry has so far bene unable to find enough Democratic support to move similar legislation in the Senate.

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