On January 1, 2022, the federal Bioengineered (BE) Food labeling law took full effect. Under the BE labeling law, certain food products made with GMOs require a label disclosing bioengineered ingredients. However, the law falls short of consumer expectations, leaving many shoppers in the dark about whether their food was made through genetic engineering.

The origins of the BE label

The BE label sprung from the overwhelming public demand for labels on genetically engineered foods. For years, activists across the US campaigned at the state level for GMO labeling, leading to a patchwork of state-level mandates. In 2016, a federal labeling law, known formally as the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, was introduced to replace the state-level actions. 

However, the federal BE labeling law has softer requirements than many of the original state-level initiatives. NBFDS covers some, but not all, products made with GMOs, making it insufficient to protect a consumer's right to know what's in their food.

What is bioengineered food?

Bioengineered, or "BE" for short, is the federal government's term for GMOs. Under the Bioengineered Food labeling law, certain BE foods containing detectable modified genetic material must disclose the presence of BE ingredients.

The clause "detectible modified genetic material" is crucial because it excludes many products made with GMOs from requiring disclosure. For example, products made with new genomic techniques such as CRISPR, TALEN and RNAi are currently untestable. Because the modified genetic material is undetectable without a commercially available test, those foods do not require a BE label.

Additionally, many processed foods contain highly refined ingredients made from GMOs. The processing often leaves no detectable modified genetic material behind in the final product, and it also does not require a BE label. Common household products that contain ingredients such as sugar made from GMO sugar beets or cooking oil made from GMO canola would fall into this category.

Which bioengineered foods are labeled — and which aren't?

Products containing GMOs that are on the USDA's List of Bioengineered Foods require a disclosure under the federal labeling law. The list currently includes:

• Alfalfa
• Arctic™ Apple 
• Canola
• Corn
• Cotton
• Bt Eggplant
• Ringspot virus-resistant Papaya
• Pink Pineapple
• Potato
• AquAdvantage® Salmon
• Soybean
• Summer squash
• Sugarbeet
• Sugarcane

While the list determines which foods are considered bioengineered in their most basic, raw form, many products made from these ingredients do not require a disclosure because of how the law is written. For example:

• Animal feed, pet food and personal care products are all exempt from the BE labeling law.
• Some foods for direct human consumption are also exempt, such as meat, poultry and eggs.
• Multi-ingredient products in which meat, poultry or eggs are the first ingredient listed are exempt even if other ingredients with detectable modified genetic material are included in the product. 

The USDA explained how this rule might impact labeling, using a can of pork stew as an example. A multi-ingredient canned stew might contain bioengineered ingredients such as sweet corn. If pork is the predominant ingredient listed first on the ingredient panel, the product would not be subject to the BE labeling law. If the stew lists water, broth or stock as the first ingredient and pork appears second on the ingredient panel, the product would not require a BE label — even if the third ingredient was GMO corn (that's because water, stock and broth are overlooked). However, if the stew contains more corn than pork, the ingredient panel will list corn first, and disclosure will be necessary. 

The pork stew example highlights the complexity of the BE labeling law: A multi-ingredient product may (or may not) require BE disclosure based on how the ingredients are listed on the label rather than the presence of bioengineered ingredients. That complexity undermines the purpose of the original GMO labeling initiatives: To let US shoppers know whether or not a product contained GMOs.

What will the bioengineered food label look like on packaging?

There are several options for what the Bioengineered (BE) Food disclosure can look like on packaging. 

Disclosure labels could take one of these forms:

• BE Symbol — The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service developed these new symbols for the BE labeling law.
• Text disclosure — The product package can display a simple text disclosure such as "Bioengineered food" or "Contains a bioengineered food ingredient." This option relies on the unfamiliar term "bioengineered" and doesn't explain what bioengineered means or where the consumer could find more information, which may be confusing.
• Text message or contact phone number — Brands may opt to display the phrase, "Text [number] for bioengineered food information" on the package, or "Call [phone number] for more food information," with a pre-recorded message.
• URL — Very small manufacturers are permitted to direct consumers to a website for information. 

While variety gives flexibility to brands, it's a disservice to shoppers. Consistency is essential to the success of any information campaign — consistency with language and consistency with labels. 

A label must be transparent and intuitively understood by the average shopper in order to be equitable and instructive. Also, the BE food label doesn't appear on all products made with GMOs, which means the absence of a BE disclosure doesn't necessarily indicate the absence of GMOs.

Are bioengineered foods the same as GMOs?

The bioengineered food label replaced earlier GMO labels required by state authorities. However, how the term "bioengineered" is applied under the labeling law leaves out many products made with GMOs. Bioengineered foods only require disclosure if the finished product contains detectable modified genetic material.

GMOs are used in well over 70% of conventional (i.e., non-organic) processed foods in the United States. Through advocacy and education, the Non-GMO Project and partner organizations have raised public awareness about GMOs in the food supply. A 2023 survey* showed that 63% of consumers were familiar with the term "GMO," compared with only 36% who reported familiarity with "bioengineering" — indicating a massive pool of people who do not know what a Bioengineered (BE) Food disclosure means. Selecting the term "bioengineered" instead of the commonly used "GMO" inhibits transparency in the food system. Clarity and accessibility are essential tools for sharing information with the public.

In addition to the requirement for detectable modified genetic material in the finished product, the Bioengineered Food labeling law requires that the modification made to the GMO cannot be found in nature or otherwise obtainable through traditional crossbreeding. However, biotech developers are currently creating GMOs through new genomic techniques which, they argue, achieve the same results as traditional crossbreeding, only faster. These claims are reductive and misleading, and deeply troubling when applied to the definition of bioengineered foods.

Gene functions and evolutionary changes are incredibly complex, based on intricate connections that are not fully understood. Claiming that a genetic modification engineered in a lab produces an identical result as an evolutionary process found in nature or in traditional breeding (minus the time) is wildly presumptuous. There is a much bigger picture that is invisible to us.

That’s because gene functions and evolutionary changes are incredibly complex, based on intricate connections that are not fully understood. To claim that a genetic modification engineered in a lab produces an identical result as an evolutionary process found in nature or in traditional breeding (minus the time) is wildly presumptuous. There is a much bigger picture that is invisible to us. 

"Whether a GMO is created by combining genes from multiple species or by rearranging or silencing genes within a species, the fundamental premise remains the same — the flawed idea that genes can be reduced to isolated functions, without regard for the complex interplay of the entire genome."
— Megan Westgate, Executive Director

Nothing in nature exists in a vacuum, and it is unnatural to assume that it would. 

The biotech industry argues that genetic engineering can create "nature-identical" non-GMO products. This claim supports the development of new GMOs in the food supply while avoiding BE disclosure. Unfortunately, the BE labeling law leaves Americans in the dark about how their food is made. 

Look for the Butterfly to keep GMOs out of your shopping cart — and out of agriculture

Most consumers concerned about GMOs seek to avoid them, not find products that contain them. The Bioengineered Food labeling law is insufficient for identifying and avoiding GMOs due to its limited scope, restrictions and exemptions. Too much falls outside of the law's purview for it to be effective. 

The Butterfly remains the most rigorous, transparent and trustworthy label for GMO avoidance. Its benefits go beyond keeping GMOs out of your shopping cart. The Non-GMO Project Product Verification Program (PVP) also works to preserve and build our non-GMO food supply. 

Disclosing whether the products we buy for our families contain "detectable modified genetic material" is insufficient to preserve environmental health and ecological harmony for future generations. At the Non-GMO Project, we agree with the 65% of consumers who believe GMO labeling should be mandatory. Labeling should be meaningful, consistent, and transparent, effectively supporting everyone's right to know what goes into their food.

* Source: Linkage Research & Consulting, 2023.