TECHNOLOGY
THE LANGUAGE OF LABELS What means what in the often-confusing world of food labeling
Editor’s Note: The food labels we encounter at the grocery store can prove complicated. We had writer Shauna L. Nosler investigate a variety of terms and explain what sets each one apart. Here is our guide to Food Labeling 101, based on definitions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. —Edible Indy
BIOENGINEERED FOODS contain detectable genetic material modified through lab techniques and cannot be created through conventional breeding or found in nature. The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Law (July 2016) directs the USDA to establish a standard for disclosing foods that are or may be bioengineered. It requires food manufacturers, importers and certain retailers to ensure bioengineered foods are appropriately disclosed. Mandatory compliance is January 1, 2022.
“This law was passed to create an equal standard for GMOs across the country instead of having each state have their own patchwork regulations. g Itt would u d be incrediblyy d u for difficult or food d companies i to market a et their t e r products d if every ry state had d their t e r own n standard d d and d would u d increase c ease costs tthat at w would u d ultimately l ly be passed d d down to the t e consumer.” u ” —Katie K Nelson,, p program manager, m n r, policyy and regulatoryy affairs, for f r the th Indianaa SStatee D Department off Agriculture
10 0
edible ed b e INDY IN
Fa 2019 Fall 0 9
“The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard also avoids a patchwork state-by-state system that could be confusing to consumers.” —U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue GENETIC ENGINEERED ORGANISMS (GEO) are produced by introducing, eliminating or rearranging specific genes. GE foods are modified by human manipulation where genes from an unrelated species are introduced in order to create a desirable trait. In other words, if the food is created through genetic engineering, it has been modified in ways that do not occur naturally. In 1996, 4.2 million acres of farmland worldwide weree covered with GE crop cultivation. By 2016, moree thann 457 million acres had GE crops, of which more than half h f were in developing veloping countries. Of the major crops (corn, canola, cotton, soybean), 53% had been introduced a trait for herbicide h tolerance ance (HT); 14% for insect resistance (IR); and 33% 3 for both HT T and IR.
G GENETICALLY C Y MODIFIED ORGANISMS (GMO) aare produced through hrough genetic modification. In a GMO, DNA iis altered to create reate a specific desirable trait (like drought ttolerance or herbicide resistance). The modification can hhappen byy traditional d tional methods, such as crossbreeding of plants w within the samee species, or by human manipulation. Some ccountries other than the U.S. use this term to refer specifically tto genetic i engineering. ineering.
