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WASHINGTON -- The Agriculture Department has developed a new government certification and labeling for foods that are free of genetically modified ingredients.
USDA's move comes as some consumer groups push for mandatory labeling of the genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA. “Non-GMO Project Verified” and Other Voluntary. USDA, AMS National Organic Program. 87 USDA, AMS. USDA verifies first non-GMO products through marketing program. SunOpta will be able to use the USDA process-verified. USDA Introduces Official Non-GMO Label. Ams Process Verified Program. USDA creates certification, label for GMO- free food. The USDA has developed a new government certification and labeling for foods that are free of.
The certification is the first of its kind and would be voluntary - and companies would have to pay for it. If approved, the foods would be able to carry a 'USDA Process Verified' label along with a claim that they are free of GMOs.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack outlined the department's plan in a May 1 letter to employees, saying the certification was being done at the request of a 'leading global company,' which he did not identify. A copy of the letter was obtained by The Associated Press.
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Car headrest dvd player installation. Right now, there are no government labels that only certify a food as GMO-free. Many companies use a private label developed by a nonprofit called the Non-GMO Project. The USDA organic label also certifies that foods are free of genetically modified ingredients, but many non-GMO foods aren't organic.
Vilsack said the USDA certification is being created through the department's Agriculture Marketing Service, which works with interested companies to certify the accuracy of the claims they are making on food packages - think 'humanely raised' or 'no antibiotics ever.' Companies pay the Agricultural Marketing Service to verify a claim, and if approved, they can market the foods with the USDA process verified label.
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'Recently, a leading global company asked AMS to help verify that the corn and soybeans it uses in its products are not genetically engineered so that the company could label the products as such,' Vilsack wrote in the letter. 'AMS worked with the company to develop testing and verification processes to verify the non-GE claim.'
A USDA spokesman confirmed that Vilsack sent the letter but declined to comment on the certification program. Vilsack said in the letter that the certification 'will be announced soon, and other companies are already lining up to take advantage of this service.'
Genetically modified foods come from seeds that are originally engineered in laboratories to have certain traits, like resistance to herbicides. The majority of the country's corn and soybean crop is now genetically modified, with much of that going to animal feed. GMO corn and soybeans are also made into popular processed food ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup and soybean oil.
The government says GMOs on the market now are safe and that mandatory labels aren't needed. Consumer advocates pushing for mandatory labeling say shoppers still have a right to know what is in their food, arguing that not enough is known about the effects of the technology. They have supported several state efforts to require labeling, with the eventual goal of having a federal standard.
The USDA label is similar to what is proposed in a GOP House bill introduced earlier this year that is designed to block those mandatory GMO labeling efforts around the country. The bill, introduced by Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., provides for USDA certification but would not make it mandatory. The bill also would override any state laws that require the labeling.
The food industry, which backs Pompeo's bill, has strongly opposed individual state efforts to require labeling, saying labels would be misleading because GMOs are safe.
Vermont became the first state to require the labeling in 2014, and that law will go into effect next year if it survives a legal challenge from the food industry.
A spokesman for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the major food industry trade group that challenged the Vermont law, said, 'We are interested in this development and look forward to engaging with the department' on the labels.
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Beef exports to the People’s Republic of China must meet specified requirements under the USDA Export Verification (EV) Program. These requirements apply to U.S. companies—slaughterers, fabricators, and/or processors—that supply beef and beef products as listed on the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) website.
The specified requirements for exports to China include:
- Beef and beef products must be derived from cattle that were born, raised, and slaughtered in the U.S., cattle that were imported from Canada or Mexico and subsequently raised and slaughtered in the U.S., or cattle that were imported from Canada or Mexico for direct slaughter;
- Cattle must be traceable to the U.S. birth farm using a unique identifier, or if imported to the first place of residence or port of entry;
- Beef and beef products must be derived from cattle less than 30 months of age;
- Chilled or frozen bone-in and deboned beef products are eligible for shipment. For a complete listing, refer to the FSIS Export Library; and
- Carcasses, beef, and beef products must be uniquely identified and controlled up until the time of shipment.
Only eligible products may be issued an FSIS Export Certificate. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) verifies that cattle meet the specified product requirements, as outlined in QAD 1030AA Procedure, through an approved USDA Quality System Assessment Program (QSA) or USDA Process Verified Program (PVP). These programs ensure that a company’s requirements are supported by a documented quality management system and are verified through audits conducted by AMS.
Additional Resources
- Guidance # GU7163DDA: USDA Beef EV Program - People’s Republic of China (pdf)