{ "id": "R46183", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R46183", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 617306, "date": "2020-02-07", "retrieved": "2020-02-18T14:09:46.545331", "title": "The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard: Overview and Select Considerations", "summary": "/\nIn July 2016, Congress enacted P.L. 114-216 (2016 Act), comprehensive legislation to govern the labeling of bioengineered foods. The 2016 Act required the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (the Standard). The Standard regulates labeling of bioengineered foods, a term defined in the 2016 Act. The act does not address or define other terms that some members of the public might associate with bioengineered foods, such as genetically engineered (GE), genetically modified, and genetically modified organism (GMO). The Standard guides the mandatory labeling of foods to indicate the presence of GE ingredients. As such, foods meeting requirements identified in the Standard must bear a bioengineered disclosure. Implementation began on January 1, 2020, and mandatory compliance begins on January 1, 2022.\nThe Standard provides details under the three key issues of applicability, disclosure options, and administrative provisions:\nApplicability discusses the definition of bioengineered food and the USDA-maintained List of Bioengineered Foods (List). The Standard applies to foods that are or may be derived from bioengineered ingredients, with some exclusions and exemptions. It does not apply to refined products, such as oils or sugars, that derive from GE plants but no longer contain detectable modified deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Many groups interpret the Standard as not applying to foods derived from gene editing and other new technologies that do not use recombinant DNA. The Standard exempts from disclosure foods served in restaurants. Some have endorsed such exclusions and exemptions, and others have criticized them.\nDisclosure Options outlines acceptable disclosure options for regulated entities, as well as additional options available for specific entities and types of food packages. Most regulated entities may disclose by text, symbol (pictured above), electronic or digital link, or text message. In some cases, a telephone number or website address may be acceptable. Some groups have praised the flexibility that this range of options provides regulated entities, while others have criticized these options as confusing.\nAdministrative Provisions reviews compliance dates, recordkeeping requirements, and enforcement mechanisms, which include audits, examinations, hearings, and release of public findings. The 2016 Act provided few enforcement mechanisms to promote compliance. The Standard establishes how USDA may investigate accusations of non-compliance and how it may publicly release its findings.\nThe Standard does not affect how foods derived from biotechnology are regulated for safety and approval for human consumption. The Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotechnology, a policy the White House issued in 1986, continues to govern how federal agencies, including USDA, evaluate and approve products developed using modern biotechnology. More generally, USDA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continue to ensure that foods sold in the United States are safe and properly labeled. \nUSDA\u2019s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) developed the Standard within a broader societal context. Before the 2016 Act, some members of the public had demanded mandatory labeling of the presence of GE ingredients in foods, based on the consumer\u2019s right to know. Other members of the public had opposed any GE labeling because of the scientific consensus that GE foods are safe to eat and concern that labeling may introduce unwarranted doubts about food safety. Before the 2016 Act, several states had enacted GE labeling laws, creating concerns among industry and consumer groups. In response, Congress debated this and other federal GE labeling legislation. GE labeling programs may be voluntary or mandatory and may indicate the presence or absence of GE ingredients. Several voluntary labeling programs predate the Standard\u2019s mandatory labeling requirements. Public and private programs for the voluntary labeling of foods continue to indicate the absence of GE ingredients in foods. These include the Non-GMO Project and the USDA National Organic Program.\nFuture considerations for Congress may include ongoing questions consumers may have concerning what it means for a food to be labeled as bioengineered, how regulated entities will respond to the Standard\u2019s new requirements, how USDA will implement its responsibilities under the Standard, potential market impacts as demand for GE versus non-GE foods may change, and how the Standard aligns with international labeling requirements. Congress may choose to monitor implementation of the new Standard in accordance with its oversight responsibilities.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R46183", "sha1": "b7820c869442b7b57c8ac39c6b855ad87bc5e06b", "filename": "files/20200207_R46183_b7820c869442b7b57c8ac39c6b855ad87bc5e06b.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R46183_files&id=/1.png": "files/20200207_R46183_images_a95750e0f7d54384e9953e71a2131e358daf308d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R46183_files&id=/0.png": "files/20200207_R46183_images_865e17d51ad42c81c5ad7b421cc6a8b5c8609453.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R46183", "sha1": "00af1790a58a03aa530bb266c0a72ef7aa002d7d", "filename": "files/20200207_R46183_00af1790a58a03aa530bb266c0a72ef7aa002d7d.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4769, "name": "Agricultural Technology & Research" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 614004, "date": "2020-01-16", "retrieved": "2020-01-22T13:58:17.410670", "title": "The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard: Overview and Select Considerations", "summary": "/\nIn July 2016, Congress enacted P.L. 114-216 (2016 Act), comprehensive legislation to govern the labeling of bioengineered foods. The 2016 Act required the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (Standard). The Standard regulates labeling of bioengineered foods, a term defined in the 2016 Act. The act does not address or define other terms that some members of the public might associate with bioengineered foods, such as genetically engineered (GE), genetically modified, and genetically modified organism (GMO). The Standard guides the mandatory labeling of foods to indicate the presence of GE ingredients. As such, foods meeting requirements identified in the Standard must bear a bioengineered disclosure. The voluntary compliance period began on January 1, 2020, and mandatory compliance begins on January 1, 2022.\nThe Standard provides details under the three key issues of applicability, disclosure options, and administrative provisions:\nApplicability discusses the definition of bioengineered and the USDA-maintained List of Bioengineered Foods (List). The Standard applies to foods derived from bioengineered ingredients, with some exclusions and exemptions. The Standard does not apply to refined products, like oils or sugars, that derive from GE plants but no longer contain any detectable deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Many groups interpret the Standard as not applying to foods derived from gene editing and other new technologies that do not use recombinant DNA. The Standard exempts from disclosure foods served in restaurants. Some have endorsed such exclusions and exemptions, and others have criticized them.\nDisclosure Options outlines acceptable disclosure options for most regulated entities, as well as additional options available for specific entities and types of food packages. Most regulated entities may disclose by symbol (pictured above), electronic or digital link, or text message. In some cases, a telephone number or website address may be acceptable. Some groups have praised the flexibility that this range of options provides regulated entities, while others have criticized these options as confusing.\nAdministrative Provisions reviews compliance dates, record keeping requirements, and enforcement mechanisms, which include audits, examinations, hearings, and release of public findings. The 2016 Act provided few enforcement mechanisms to promote compliance. The Standard establishes how USDA may investigate accusations of non-compliance and how it may publicly release its findings.\nThe Standard does not affect how foods derived from biotechnology are regulated for safety and approval for human consumption. The Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotechnology, a policy the White House issued in 1986, continues to govern how federal agencies, including USDA, evaluate and approve products developed using modern biotechnology. More generally, USDA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continue to ensure that foods sold in the United States are safe and properly labeled. \nUSDA\u2019s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) developed the Standard within a broader societal context. Before the 2016 Act, some members of the public had demanded mandatory labeling of the presence of GE ingredients in foods, based on the consumer\u2019s right to know. Other members of the public had opposed any GE labeling because of the scientific consensus that GE foods are safe to eat, and concern that labeling may introduce unwarranted doubts about food safety. Before the 2016 Act, several states had enacted GE labeling laws, creating concerns among industry and consumer groups. In response, Congress debated this and other federal GE labeling legislation. GE labeling programs may be voluntary or mandatory, and may indicate the presence or absence of GE ingredients. Several voluntary labeling programs predate the Standard\u2019s mandatory labeling requirements. Public and private programs for the voluntary labeling of foods continue to indicate the absence of GE ingredients in foods. These include the Non-GMO Project and the USDA National Organic Program.\nFuture considerations for Congress may include ongoing questions consumers may have concerning what it means for a food to be labeled as bioengineered; how regulated entities will respond to the Standard\u2019s new requirements; how USDA will implement its responsibilities under the Standard; potential market impacts as demand for GE versus non-GE foods may change; and how the Standard aligns with international labeling requirements. Congress may choose to monitor implementation of the new Standard in accordance with its oversight responsibilities.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R46183", "sha1": "bf364b5c60694ad99286a6f3f2d9e8d6328ded2e", "filename": "files/20200116_R46183_bf364b5c60694ad99286a6f3f2d9e8d6328ded2e.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R46183_files&id=/1.png": "files/20200116_R46183_images_eb8bcfdcaec1f79fc18c37d848e55a409e75f2a2.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R46183_files&id=/0.png": "files/20200116_R46183_images_865e17d51ad42c81c5ad7b421cc6a8b5c8609453.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R46183", "sha1": "9c99a3d47d07e507a84787a9d51e3db3dadf4858", "filename": "files/20200116_R46183_9c99a3d47d07e507a84787a9d51e3db3dadf4858.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4769, "name": "Agricultural Technology & Research" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Agricultural Policy" ] }