Category Archives: Labeling

Labeling

Can You Tell Which GMOs Will Be Labeled under the NBFDS?

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Reposted Jan 18, 2019 - Living Non-GMO

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The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard requires some food producers to put labels on some products that contain GMOs. Unfortunately, there are two glaring problems with this law that mean consumers will still not be able to tell what is in the food they are eating. Let’s take a closer look at disclosure options and exemptions under the NBFDS.

Disclosures

As a reminder, GMO foods won’t say they contain GMOs, they will say they are “bioengineered food.” However, many products will not even say that. A text disclosure is just one of four main options available. Food manufacturers have a few choices when it comes to disclosing GMO content:

  • Use a text-only disclosure including “bioengineered food,” “contains a bioengineered food ingredient,” and “derived from bioengineering.” “Bioengineered food” means that all ingredients in a product are or could be derived from GMOs. “Contains a bioengineered food ingredient” means a product contains at least one GMO ingredient, and other ingredients may or not be made with GMOs. “Derived from bioengineering” is a special voluntary disclosure.
  • Use one of these symbols instead of a text disclosure:

These symbols (and other types of disclaimers) will begin to appear on packages in 2020 to indicate the presence of GMOs in food.

These symbols say “bioengineered” but they do not explain what that means or how to find more information about it.

Read on…

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GMO's, Labeling

Russia’s Clear GMO Labeling Rules Reach the Shelves across Eurasian Economic Union

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Sustainable Pulse - Jan 3, 2019

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), including the countries of Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Belarus, has introduced clear GMO labeling on all food and supplement products containing genetically modified organisms, starting from last week.

Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) announced in 2016 that it was inviting all EAEU countries to apply a “GMO” label on the packaging of food products that contain genetically modified organisms.

The Rospotrebnadzor and the EAEU confirmed the proposed amendments to the technical regulations on the labeling of food products in the EAEU, despite objections from some European Union food manufacturers, who claimed that the new GMO label will cause problems for international trade.

According to the new regulations the basic size of the GMO label must not be less than 5 mm. The technical regulations also require that the GMO label be applied in a manner that provides easy readability and visibility throughout the shelf life of food and supplement products.

The announcement of the clear GMO labeling rules in the EAEU follows the disastrous GMO labeling rules announced in the U.S. last month, which according to Consumer Reports will not help consumers in America easily identify food that has been genetically engineered or that contains genetically modified ingredients.

The EAEU countries are also moving in the correct direction on sustainable agriculture;

In June 2016 Russia’s State Duma adopted the third and final reading of a government bill that introduced a total ban on the cultivation and breeding in Russia of genetically modified (GM) plants and animals, except for scientific research purposes.

Meanwhile, in December 2018 the Kyrgyzstan government announced that it is set to become only the second country in the world to change their entire nation in to a 100% organic farming paradise.

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GMO's, Labeling, Organic Farming

Documentary: Modified (2017) - (87 min) Why are GMO foods not labeled in North America?

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‘Modified’ is a first-person feature documentary that questions why genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not labeled on food products in the United States and Canada, despite being labeled in 64 countries around the world. Shot over a span of ten years, the film follows the ongoing struggle to label GMOs, exposing the cozy relationship between the biotech industry and governments. The film is anchored in the intimate story of the filmmaker’s relationship to her mom, a prolific gardener, seed saver, and food activist who battled cancer while the film production was underway. Interweaving the personal and the political, the film uses family archives, animations, and mouth-watering vignettes from the filmmaker’s award-winning PBS cooking show to create a moving account of family legacy, grassroots activism, and the journey for a more sustainable and transparent food system.

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Five Pillars of Food Safety, Health Canada, Labeling

Health Canada’s Launches sugar, salt, fat symbol. But what about the 5 toxins in our Food?

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Feb. 9th, 2018

The Minister of Health, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, today announced that Health Canada will launch consultations on regulations for a new front-of-package symbol on food. This is part of Health Canada’s eating strategy.

The irony is, that these items (salt, sugar and fat) are already on the label for food packaging and include the percentages contained in that food. So what is going on here?

What is not labeled, are 5 toxins in our food which are: Hormones, Antibiotics, Slaughterhouse waste fed to farm animals, GMO’s(glyphosate) and pesticides. All but pesticides have been banned in Europe for decades.

STAND UP - For Food Safety - This 4-minute doc urges citizens to mobilize, ban contaminants in our food supply and take back the food system. Produced by The Canadian Council on Food Sovereignty and Health. A food advocacy group campaigning and organizing for sustainable agriculture and an organic food system. The Council promotes a ban on toxins currently permitted in our food supply. Thanks to industry self-regulation hormones, antibiotics, slaughterhouse waste, pesticides & GMOs continue to be approved by Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency - contrary to the Food and Drugs Act!

VIDEO: STAND UP - For Food Safety