Sierra Club signed on to this.
laurel hopwood, sierra club genetic  engineering action team chair


For Immediate Release: April 20,  2010
Contact: Naomi Starkman, CU, [log in to unmask] 
(mailto:[log in to unmask]) , 917.539.3924-c
 
MORE THAN 80 GROUPS URGE FDA AND USDA TO  CHANGE
U.S. POSITION ON FOOD LABELING
 
Position Will Create Problems for American  Producers to Label Products 
GM/GE-Free
Upcoming International Codex Meeting to  Discuss Food Labeling, May 3
 
Yonkers, NY-Consumers Union, the nonprofit  publisher of Consumer Reports, 
and more than 80 farmers, public health,  environmental, and organic food 
organizations today sent a letter to Michael R.  Taylor, Deputy Commissioner 
for Food at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration  (FDA), and to Kathleen 
Merrigan, Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of  Agriculture (USDA), 
expressing serious concerns that a proposed U.S. position on  food labeling would 
create major problems for American producers who want to  label their 
products as free of genetically modified (GM)/genetically engineered  (GE) 
ingredients.  A copy of the letter can be found online: 
_http://www.consumersunion.org/pdf/Codex-comm-ltr-0410.pdf_ 
(http://www.consumersunion.org/pdf/Codex-comm-ltr-0410.pdf) 
 
The Codex Alimentarius Commission is a United  Nations agency that develops 
food safety and labeling standards. Its standards  carry weight because 
they are used to settle disputes at the World Trade  Organization.  The Codex 
Committee on Food Labeling (CCFL) meets in Quebec  City, Canada May 3-7, 2010 
to discuss the labeling issue.
 
The letter refers specifically to a position,  drafted by USDA and FDA, 
that opposes a Codex document stating that countries  can adopt different 
approaches to labeling of GE food, in line with existing  Codex guidance. The 
current U.S. draft position goes even further to say  that mandatory labeling 
of food as GE/GM "is likely to create the impression  that the labeled food 
is in some way different" and would therefore be "false,  misleading or 
deceptive."
 
"We are concerned that the current U.S.  position could potentially create 
significant problems for food producers in the  U.S. who wish to indicate 
that their products contain no GE ingredients. Organic  food in particular, 
which prohibits GE ingredients, are frequently labeled  'GE-free' or 'No 
GMOs'.  A recent CU poll found that two-thirds of  consumers would be concerned 
if they thought that GE/GM ingredients were in  organic food," said Dr. 
Michael Hansen, senior scientist at Consumers  Union.
 
The U.S. position paper states that Codex  should not "suggest or imply 
that GM/GE foods are in any way different from  other foods."  However, Dr. 
Hansen stated, "Such foods clearly are  different. USDA organic rules 
specifically state that GE seed cannot be  used in organic production. The FDA has 
also taken the position that within the  U.S., voluntary labeling as to 
whether or not a product contains GE ingredients  is permissible."
 
The letter to USDA and FDA is signed by the  Organic Trade Association, the 
Organic Consumers Association, the Union of  Concerned Scientists, the 
National Organic Coalition, and R-CALF USA, among many  others. A full list of 
the signatories can be found online.
 
"We find it hard to understand how FDA and  USDA can argue to Codex that 
mandatory labeling is inherently false and  misleading, but voluntary 
labeling, which is permitted in the United States, is  not," the groups state. "We 
are, in fact, concerned that the current U.S.  position appears to seek to 
establish precedents at Codex that would make it  difficult to label food as 
non-GM within the U.S."
  
The groups also urge the U.S. to not allow  trade goals to interfere with 
or overrule judgments made on sound science and  existing policy. 
 
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