Expert response from Community Manager

Moderator for GMOAnswers.com

Wednesday, 06/11/2019 18:30

If the product states it is “produced with genetic engineering” or “partially produced with genetic engineering,” it means that it contains one or more of the 10 genetically modified crops available in the U.S. today, which include: alfalfa, apples, canola, corn (field and sweet), cotton, papaya, potatoes, soybeans, squash and sugar beets.

In December 2018, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) finalized the standards for mandatory “GMO” labeling by releasing the “National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard” (or NBFDS). The NBFDS establishes the rules of the road for disclosing which foods in the U.S. have been or may have been bioengineered (BE) and is enforced by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), a sub-agency of the USDA. GMO labeling took effect as early as February 2019, but it will become mandatory for all retail food products that are bioengineered or contain bioengineered ingredients by January 1, 2022. You can read more about the USDA’s labeling standard here.

Until the rule becomes mandatory, some companies have chosen to voluntarily place “produced with genetic engineering” or “partially produced with genetic engineering” labels on their products.

We hope this answers your question. If you have any other questions about GMOs or biotechnology, please ask!