How come food items that contain GMOs are unlabeled in America?

Expert response from Ruth MacDonald

Professor and Chair, Food Science and Human Nutrition, Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Iowa State University

Thursday, 05/09/2013 17:35

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which regulates food labels, has determined that the process of using biotechnology to produce foods does not need to be identified on a food label unless the process has modified the food or ingredient in a manner that changes how it is used in the food, its nutritional composition or whether it includes a potential allergen.

Based on scientific evidence, the FDA scientists have concluded that the GM foods and food ingredients being used in the United States today are no different from their non-GM counterparts in any way that would require a specific label on the package. Hence, they do not require these ingredients to be identified on a food label. The FDA does allow manufacturers that do not use GM ingredients to label their foods as GMO-free.