For more than a decade, organic farmers, ranchers and food processors have been subject to rigorous annual inspections to ensure they are in compliance with national organic standards. The scrutiny is carried out by agents accredited by a division of the Department of Agriculture.
But responsibility for overseeing food labeling lies with another part of the USDA, along with the Food and Drug Administration, and they continue to reject petitions by organic food producers who want to label their products as “GMO-free” or “produced without use of GMOs.”
Resistance by the USDA seems especially inconsistent, given that one branch of the agency enforces the organic rule, including the GMO prohibition, while down the hall, another rejects labels submitted by organic companies.
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An organic GMO-free label would also help consumers distinguish organic food from food labeled as “natural,” which the FDA does not clearly define. Allowing organic products to be labeled GMO-free would provide a clear distinction between the terms “organic” and “natural.”
Read the full, original story: What an ‘organic’ food label should mean
