Lawsuit Challenges Bioengineered GMO Food Labeling

A lawsuit led by the Center for Food Safety challenges Department of Agriculture rules on labeling genetically engineered, or GMO foods, as bioengineered foods. The lawsuit claims the final regulations, issued in 2019, includes provisions “which will leave the majority of GMO-derived foods unlabeled,” as it prohibits the use of the widely known terms GMO and GE. The Center for Food Safety is representing a coalition of food labeling nonprofits and retailers, including the Natural Grocers, operating 157 stores in 20 states, and Puget Consumers Co-op, the nation's largest community-owned food market. CFS legal director George Kimbrell, counsel in the case, says, "The American public successfully won GE food labeling after more than a two-decade fight, but the Trump rules fall far short of what consumers reasonably expect and the law requires.” The Center for Food Safety also challenges USDA's allowance of electronic or digital disclosure on packaging, also known as "QR code" or "smartphone" labeling, without requiring additional on-package labeling, among other issues.