If you want to know whether the bread you’re about to buy was sweetened with corn syrup, you can check the label.
The same is true if you’re concerned about preservatives, caramel colouring or artificial flavouring.
By law, all of these ingredients must be listed on food labels.
But not genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
The Food and Drug Administration does not require clear identification and labeling of food products made with genetically engineered plants.
Most consumers want that to change. Some 93 per cent of respondents to a New York Times survey in January 2013 said they wanted genetically modified ingredients identified, even though only about half said they would avoid GMO products.
More than 1.4 million people have signed the Centre for Food Safety’s petition urging the federal agency to require GMO labelling.
Last weekend, marches were held in dozens of cities to protest the introduction of genetically engineered products by Monsanto and other developers.
Vermont this month became the first state to require labeling of GMO foods, and Connecticut and Maine have passed similar laws, though they are contingent on other states enacting legislation.
Food producers and developers of genetically modified plants and seeds poured millions of dollars into advertising in 2012 to defeat a California initiative requiring GMO labeling, and they are pushing a federal bill that would bar states from requiring labeling.
They insist the ingredients are safe and say there is no need for labels.
Labelling space
“Labelling space is very limited, and mandatory labelling would create an unnecessary stigma,” said Claire Parker, spokeswoman for the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food, which represents businesses and organisations opposed to GMO labeling.
She and other industry representatives point to the FDA’s determination in 1992 that there was no need for mandatory labelling of bioengineered foods because there were no ‘material’ or ‘meaningful’ differences between bioengineered and nonbioengineered foods.
Genetically engineered plants contain DNA from other animal or plant species that is intended to give them traits that are considered desirable by the manufacturers.
One of the more recent innovations is an apple that does not turn brown after it is sliced. Another is a strawberry that withstands freezing.
Many of the plants have been engineered to survive being sprayed with weed killers; some even produce their own pesticides.
Advocates of labeling point out that the FDA has elaborate disclosure requirements for all kinds of foods.
Labels on orange juice, for instance, must inform customers whether it is fresh or made from concentrate, and producers are barred from using the term “juice” if the drink is not 100 per cent juice. The agency even regulates the use of terms like “fresh,” “frozen,” “fresh frozen,” “frozen fresh” and “quickly frozen” on labels for products like peas.
Agency scientists have expressed concerns about new genetically engineered plant products, wondering whether the new plants have the same levels of important nutrients as non-engineered varieties, for instance, and whether they might contain toxins, new allergens or unapproved food additives.
But unlike the approval process required for new drugs and even many food additives like artificial sweeteners, the review process for new GMO plant foods is voluntary.
Producers are asked only to consult with the FDA.
The agency “does not conduct a comprehensive scientific review of data generated by the developer,” according to FDA documents. Officials rely on producers to do their own safety and nutritional assessments, and they review summaries of those assessments.
It is not clear whether genetically engineered salmon, which is going through a different review process than GMO plants, will be labeled when it gets to market.
An agency official said special labelling would only be required if the FDA determines the food differs “materially” from comparable foods — for example, if it has a different nutritional profile.
Shoppers who want to know whether they’re purchasing genetically engineered foods do have a few options.
And a growing number of food producers that don’t use genetically modified ingredients in their products are seeking certification by the Non-GMO Project.
They carry a “Non-G.M.O.” label with a logo of a red butterfly on a blade of grass.