Fwd: Voluntary labeling of GE foods discussed by FDA

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angelprincessjo

Voluntary labeling of GE foods discussed by FDA

Sat, 23 Mar 2002 05:29:01 PST

 

News Update From The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

----

 

Dear Health Freedom Fighters,

 

On Thursday, the deputy commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration

(FDA), Lester Crawford, testified before the House agricultural

appropriations subcommittee. Crawford discussed the FDA's position on

voluntary labels for non-genetically engineered foods. He also discussed

the labeling of irradiated foods.

 

The Associated Press (AP) article posted below is titled " Biotech Food

Labeling Delayed. " This refers to the delay of voluntary labeling rules

for products that do not contain genetically engineered ingredients, as

opposed to the mandatory labeling legislation we are working to get

passed in the U.S. Congress.

 

The AP article made an error in stating that the " FDA proposed labeling

rules for non-biotech foods in January 2001. " That is not correct. What

the FDA released in January 2001 was a " Notice " and not " Proposed

Rules. "

 

When the FDA actually does issue " Proposed Rules, " there will be a

public comment period. Then, after reviewing and considering the

comments they receive about the Proposed Rules, the FDA will eventually

issue " Final Rules. " Even then, the Final Rules are usually not enacted

for months or even years. Such time is normally provided to allow

manufacturers the opportunity to change their labels and work existing

inventories out of their stock.

 

Deputy commissioner Crawford said it could be months or even years

before the rules are made final. Years are a lot more likely time frame

based on the previous track record of the FDA on such matters.

 

Rather than waiting for the FDA to issue proposed rules on voluntary

labeling of non-genetically engineered products, some industry leaders

in the natural products industry are working together on this issue.

They are trying to determine the logical level of contamination that

should still allow a product to be marketed as a non-genetically

engineered product. Deputy commissioner Crawford mentions a level of 1

percent. Many people in the natural foods industry would like to see it

significantly lower. So tests are being conducted for accuracy and to

determine a practical level for a label indicating that the products do

not contain genetically engineered ingredients.

 

If you would like to read the actual notice the FDA issued January 1,

2001, about voluntarily labeling foods as not containing genetically

engineered ingredients, here is a link to that Adobe Acrobat document:

http://www.thecampaign.org/voluntarylabeling.pdf

 

Posted after the AP article below is one from China Daily titled " New

rule requires GMO product labels. " That article discusses the recent

implementation of labeling requirements for genetically engineered foods

in China.

 

There is one final point I would like to address in this e-mail. Many

people are asking when the mandatory labeling legislation will be

introduced before the U.S. Congress. We have been recently assured by

the offices of both Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative Dennis

Kucinich that the legislation is coming soon. However, they are not able

to provide an accurate time estimate on when it will be introduced. In

the meantime, keep sending letters to your members of Congress asking

them to support and co-sponsor the legislation. Letters to Congress are

usually delayed a week or two because they are being irradiated to kill

any possible anthrax, but they ARE getting delivered.

 

Form letters to Congress are available on The Campaign's web site at:

http://www.thecampaign.org/congressletters.htm

 

Letters are also contained in the back of The Campaign's informative

32-page Take Action Packets. Order extra Take Action Packets and share

them with your friends:

http://www.thecampaign.org/tap.htm

 

Craig Winters

Executive Director

The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

 

The Campaign

PO Box 55699

Seattle, WA 98155

Tel: 425-771-4049

Fax: 603-825-5841

E-mail: label

Web Site: http://www.thecampaign.org

 

Mission Statement: " To create a national grassroots consumer campaign

for the purpose of lobbying Congress and the President to pass

legislation that will require the labeling of genetically engineered

foods in the United States. "

 

***************************************************************

 

Biotech Food Labeling Delayed

 

By PHILIP BRASHER

..c The Associated Press

 

WASHINGTON (AP) - Companies that want to label food as free of

genetically engineered ingredients will have to wait while the

government decides how to make sure it's true.

 

The food would have to be tested by the companies and checked

periodically by federal inspectors to make sure it doesn't contain

biotech products, said Lester Crawford, deputy commissioner of the Food

and Drug Administration.

 

``If it's on the label, it has to be true, and it's up to us to be sure

that it is,'' Crawford told the House agricultural appropriations

subcommittee on Thursday.

 

FDA proposed labeling rules for non-biotech foods in January 2001,

during the final days of the Clinton administration. But Crawford, an

appointee of the Bush administration, said it could be months or even

years before the rules are made final.

 

Genetically engineered soy and corn are used in a wide variety of foods

and drinks. FDA says the ingredients are just as safe as those produced

by conventional methods.

 

Critics of biotechnology pushed the Clinton administration to require

foods with gene-altered ingredients to be labeled as such, but FDA

refused. Instead, it proposed the labeling rules for foods that are

biotech-free.

 

The agency would likely allow genetically modified ingredients to make

up no more than about 1 percent of officially biotech-free foods. FDA

plans to check a portion to make sure foods meet the standard, but

hasn't decided how much testing is needed for the results to be

statistically valid, Crawford said.

 

FDA has suggested several possible labels, including ``We do not use

ingredients that were produced using biotechnology'' and ``This oil is

made from soybeans that were not genetically engineered.''

 

A food industry spokesman said few consumers appear interested in buying

non-biotech products. ``I don't really think you're going to see many

companies going out and marketing them if we had the standard

tomorrow,'' said Gene Grabowski of the Grocery Manufacturers of America.

 

Consumers who want to avoid bioengineered products already can buy

organic products. Beginning this fall, foods that meet the government's

standards for organic products, which bar the use of genetically

engineered crops, will bear a special Agriculture Department seal.

 

Crawford also told the lawmakers Thursday that FDA has all but ruled out

allowing the term ``cold pasteurization'' on foods that have been

irradiated to kill harmful bacteria.

 

The food industry has been slow to use irradiation because of consumer

resistance to the term. Lawmakers have been pushing FDA to allow such

products to be called pasteurized.

 

But the agency tested the term ``cold pasteurization'' with consumer

focus groups and found they viewed it ``as kind of a ruse to conceal the

fact'' the food has been irradiated, Crawford said. ``The public needs

to know that food has been irradiated and that irradiation is safe.''

 

He also said the special symbol that must appear on the labels of

irradiated foods is ``threatening to the public.''

 

AP-NY-03-21-02 1608EST

 

***************************************************************

 

New rule requires GMO product labels

(03/21/2002) (China Daily)

 

China started the implementation of its new rules on genetically

modified organisms (GMO) on Wednesday and the expected reactions have

been heard from the market.

 

The new rules required all imported genetically modified soya beans,

corn, rapeseed, cotton seed and tomatoes to be clearly labelled as

genetically modified products.

 

Furthermore, overseas firms that export genetically modified products to

China must obtain certificates from China's Ministry of Agriculture to

ensure their goods are safe.

 

Genetically modified imports that lack safety certificates and relevant

papers will be returned to their ports of origin or destroyed, according

to the new rules.

 

Fu Zhongwen, an official with the ministry's newly created GMO biosafety

office, said the office will supervise the implementation of the new

rules in conjunction with relevant government departments.

 

Dong Jingsheng, deputy secretary-general with the China Consumers'

Association, spoke highly of the new rules in an interview last week.

 

Dong said the rules can better ensure domestic consumers' rights to know

the truth and make a choice, both of which are highlighted in China's

Law on Protecting Consumers' Rights and Interests, which came into

effect in 1993.

 

Sales offices with Beijing-based Jingkelong and French-funded Carrefour

-- two big chain store groups in the capital -- both pledged on

Wednesday to " strictly obey the new rules. "

 

Cui Hong, an administrative officer with Jingkelong, said his company

stopped the acceptance of unlabelled genetically modified products

earlier this week.

 

Hongcheng Supermarket Group in Guangzhou, capital of South China's

Guangdong Province, has also made thorough measures to block unlabelled

GMOs, local media reported on Wednesday. The report said Hongcheng and

other major supermarkets in Guangzhou had cleared out genetically

modified products without labels by the end of last month.

 

The United States shipped 1.9 million tons of soya beans to China

between September 1 and December 6, up to 70 per cent of which had been

genetically altered, according to the American Soybean Association.

 

Japan and the European Union have similar rules on genetically modified

imports.

 

 

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