Consumers Brands group requests delay on GMO labeling compliance, citing supply chain issues

Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the Consumer Brands Association, urged the Biden administration to delay the compliance date for food companies to complete labeling of GM foods, due to disruption of supply chains during COVID.

The mandatory compliance date is Jan. 1, 2022; regulated entities may comply voluntarily until Dec. 31, 2021. The USDA created the standard subsequent to the 2016 passage of the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Law.

“I would like to see a greater degree of urgency in Washington” about the supply chain “crisis,” Freeman said at a recent food policy conference. The Consumer Brands Association replaced the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which dissolved amid a fierce battle between member companies over whether GM foods should be labeled.

In addition to companies’ concern that the BE (Bioengineered) label will scare off consumers, some are having trouble sourcing non-bioengineered ingredients.

“Now is not the right time” to demand labels, Freeman said. He cited worsening pressures on supply chains, including cost of ingredients and lack of labor—people haven’t returned to their jobs, he said, particularly in rural America.

Source: The Fence Post

To view source article, visit: https://www.thefencepost.com/news/consumer-brands-leader-calls-for-slowing-down-gmo-labeling/

Organic & Non-GMO Insights December 2021