Advocates for labeling food products containing GMOs got one step closer to their goal earlier this month when a federal district court handed down a decision, giving USDA until January 1, 2028 to rewrite rules mandating the labels.
The decision, handed down on Aug. 3, comes after a yearslong court battle between labeling advocates and the department, following USDA’s issuance of regulations in 2018 that created large loopholes for genetically engineered foods to avoid labeling requirements.
George Kimbrell, legal director for the Center for Food Safety (CFS), which filed the lawsuit, and counsel in the case, called the decision “the final nail in the coffin” of the regulations.
“We are gratified that the district court, like the court of appeals before it, has agreed with our legal arguments and struck them down,” he added.
Longtime battle for labeling
Labeling advocates have pushed for the GMO notifications since the 1990s, and they finally got their support in Congress in the 2016 National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard.
In 2018, USDA issued labeling requirements that exempted an estimated 70% to 80% of all GMOs, including ultra-processed foods where genetically modified material was determined to be undetectable.
“This loophole was significant, as these GMO ultra-processed foods, such as sodas and cooking oils, make up approximately 70% of all GMO food ingredients,” the Center for Food Safety said in a prepared statement. “It had also allowed companies to disclose solely through inaccessible digital ‘QR code’ labels, instead of on-package text or symbols, despite the fact that USDA’s own report had found that such disclosures would be discriminatory by not providing the relevant information to many segments of the public.”
USDA also allowed food manufacturers to avoid a direct label by giving the option of including a QR code that featured a GMO notice. The QR is only available through use of a smart phone or device.
A coalition of businesses – Natural Grocers, Citizens for GMO Labeling, Label GMOs, Rural Vermont, Good Earth Natural Foods, Puget Consumers Co-op, Center for Food Safety and National Organic Coalition – sued in 2020.
In January, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sided in favor of the plaintiffs, upholding an appeals court decision in October that ruled the labels must clearly state that GMOs are used in the product.
Back to the USDA
Now it’s up to USDA to rewrite the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard rules before the January 1, 2028 deadline.
“The next chapter now shifts back to USDA,” said Dashel Murawski, communications manager at Center for Food Safety. “All those that care about their right to know how their food is produced—including whether it is made with pesticide-promoting, corporate-controlled GMO agriculture – need to pressure the administration to follow the law this time.
“People deserve the right to decide for themselves what they eat and feed their families and must not be kept in the dark about food ingredients. This is about uplifting the rights of the public over corporate loopholes.”
