Support in USA for GM labelling

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received over one million comments in response to a petition on whether or not food containing genetically modified materials should be labelled for the consumer, Soyatech reports.
It is not yet known how the FDA intends to respond to these comments or whether the petition will result in labelling of GM foods.
While the practice of genetic modification has been advantageous for medical research, gene therapy and the agricultural industry, it remains a controversial topic surrounded by ethical questions and concerns over safety issues.
Joe Frasca, senior vice president of marketing at EMSL Analytical, Inc – a leader in environmental laboratory testing of food and pharmaceutical materials, among others – said: “Food labelling for GMOs, much like standard nutritional labelling, provides consumers with information about what they are purchasing and feeding their families.”
In May, over a million signatures were collected in California, well over the 500,000 needed for a statewide referendum.

From Print Issue: July 2012