United States food labeling confusing - or not?
USA: During the last year the American consumer has seen major changes in how they receive information about their food products. At the beginning of the year a decision to allow meat and milk from cloned animals being sold was made. More recently the decision surrounding organic fish has caused some stir among consumers.
While industry representatives debate and argue for or against new label requirements, the consumer is left wondering what these new labels mean, and how it will influence and help them.
In January the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided that meat and milk from cloned cattle, swine and goats are just as safe as the same products from "conventional" animals. This means that products from cloned animals do not have to be labeled as such. The law only requires labeling if food is significantly changed from conventional food.
Consumer advocate groups argue that the long term effects in humans have not been adequately studied. The issue remains controversial and many food companies have indicated they will not use cloned meat or milk so they don't upset skeptical consumers.
Since more than 70 percent of all the food Americans consume originates outside of the United States, country of origin labeling is an issue. Until recently there was no law requiring that all imported food be labeled to tell where the food came from. It has been required to tell where imported seafood originated since 2005, but this fall other foods were added, such as meat, produce and nuts.
According to some estimates, approximately 70 percent of what Americans purchase at the grocery store contains genetically modified (GM) plant-based ingredients. However, such items do not have to carry a warning label about it. This practice was continued when authorities this year decided that they would not require that GM labels for modified meat or seafood. However, no such product has been approved for the American market.
As for cloning, US authorities do not feel that GM food is significantly changed from its conventional counterpart, and therefore will not demand it being labeled.
Standards for what is considered organic were adopted in 2002 when the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) implemented standards for what could and could not be labeled as "USDA Organic".
The "organic" rules were perceived as very strict. However, in November this year an advisory group suggested that fish which has been fed non-organic food could carry the organic label. Many view this as a direct violation of the USDA standards. It is still unclear when a final rule will be issued.
Many observers think the new administration in Washington DC will be busy making new labeling regulations. The new president, Barack Obama, has stated he supports labeling of GM foods.
