If GMOs are not a concern, then why aren't they listed with the rest of the ingredients of a product?

Expert response from David B. Schmidt

President & CEO, International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation

Friday, 20/12/2013 20:37

The FDA determines what ingredients are important to health and safety that should be listed on a food label.  The process of producing foods using biotechnology itself does not trigger any material disclosures that would be required to be listed.  However, the FDA policy already requires that if a biotechnology trait produced a protein not expected to be in a certain food, the presence of that protein must be identified on the label.  In that case the specific protein, rather than the process used to produce it, is required to be declared on the label.  The acronym “GMO” or “genetically modified organism” does not distinguish a product of biotechnology from a product of conventional agriculture as many of the foods we eat were genetically modified through traditional breeding.  This is why FDA considers these terms potentially misleading to consumers.