(DTN) -- USDA's Office of the General Counsel has sent Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., a letter clarifying the department's views on the authority it would have to label foods as the Senate prepares for a vote on Wednesday afternoon on whether to end debate on a bill to establish a federal law requiring labeling of genetically modified foods.
The Senate bill is being pushed to permanently block state-by-state efforts to label foods containing ingredients from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Senators will vote Wednesday whether to invoke cloture on the bill, a procedural vote requiring 60 senators to essentially advance a bill for final Senate approval.
The letter from USDA to Stabenow suggests that foods from crops approved by USDA's Biotechnology Regulatory Service would be the major ingredients designated for GMO labeling, but USDA would also have the authority to require labels for genetic modifications done through gene-editing techniques as well. USDA General Counsel Jeffrey Prieto wrote Stabenow the letter in response to questions she posed to USDA.
USDA also released the following statement regarding the letter:
"USDA's technical assistance discussions with the committee have clearly communicated that the bill provides the authority for highly refined sugars and oils to be brought into the program as provided in the legislative text, as well as the whole host of products derived with traditional gene modification (having gone through the USDA de-regulation process, like corn, soybeans, sugar and canola) and those derived with gene editing and RNA interference," USDA stated. "All told, the draft legislation provides authority to require more than 24,000 additional products in the disclosure program than the Vermont law and will help to avoid a patchwork of state regulations that may confuse consumers and increase food costs."
The USDA letter follows a Food and Drug Administration technical advisory to Congress that criticized some provisions in the bill and claiming that it would give USDA authority over labeling of foods that come under FDA's authority.
Following the leak of the FDA memo to the Senate Agriculture Committee, the FDA said it was not taking a position on the bill and deferring to USDA on implementation of the law if it goes into effect. The bill places the federal labeling program at the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service.
The FDA questioned whether USDA would have authority to label products that had originated with genetically modified seed but in which the food did not contain genetically modified material. FDA used the example of soy oil. But it would appear the same question would apply to beet sugar because 90% of the sugar beets in the United States now come from genetically modified seed, though the beet sugar does not contain signs of genetic modification.
A food industry source said that the combination of the FDA and USDA communications to Congress means that the final decision on whether a food will be labeled for GMO ingredients will be up to the Agriculture secretary at that time.
"The burden will be on any industry of a processed product that removes all DNA and protein to petition the secretary. It will be up to the secretary to make the final determination whether the ingredient needs to be disclosed. That will have to be sorted out after rulemaking and see what criteria will be required by the secretary. So it is premature to speculate on what products may or may not have to be disclosed. You cannot have complete certainty until the secretary makes a decision."