As consumer groups lobby for mandatory labeling of foods with genetically modified (GMO) ingredients, the US Department of Agriculture is rolling out its first certification and labeling program for GMO-free foods. The program is voluntary and companies have to pay the agency for the certification. Currently, companies can label their foods as GMO-free, but there is no official government labeling other than the USDA’s organic certification; all organic products are GMO-free, but not all GMO-free foods are organic. Many companies have adopted a private label verified by the nonprofit Non-GMO Project. Under the USDA plan, the agency would work with companies to certify non-GMO claims as part of its Process Verification Program, much as it now does with such labeling as “humanely raised.”
Despite the push to promote foods as GMO-free, every major health organization has concluded there is no difference in health effects between GMO and non-GMO foods.