One of America’s best-known food companies, Campbell Soup, said it “will advocate for federal legislation that would require all foods and beverages regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to be clearly and simply labeled for GMOs.” With the decision, Campbell is the first major foodmaker to support mandatory nationwide labeling. Congress deadlocked on the issue in 2015. The food industry is pressing lawmakers to keep labeling voluntary on the national level and to pre-empt state labeling laws. Vermont’s first-in-the-nation GMO label law takes effect July 1.
“As a result of its decision to support mandatory national GMO labeling, Campbell will withdraw from all efforts led by coalitions and groups opposing such measures,” the company said in a statement. Campbell said state-by-state regulation would be impractical and it hoped for “a federal solution” soon. “However, if that is not the case, Campbell is prepared to label all of its U.S. products for the presence of ingredients that were derived from GMOs, not just those required by pending legislation in Vermont,” said the statement. The foodmaker said it also supports creation of a national standard for non-GMO claims for food.
“With 92 percent of Americans supporting the labeling of GMO foods, Campbell believes now is the time for the federal government to act quickly to implement a federal solution,” said the company, citing Consumer Reports statistics.
The trade group Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), which has led opposition to mandatory GMO labeling, unveiled a SmartLabel initiative on Dec 2 that uses QR codes, which can be scanned by smart phones, on food packages to provide detailed information about ingredients, including GMOs. It said 30 major companies were committed to the project. Within five years, 80 percent of food, pet, and household products will use the technology, it estimated.
In a message to employees, Campbell chief executive Denise Morrison said the company, which worked with GMA to defeat state referendums on GMO labeling, “has always believed that consumes have a right to know what’s in their food. GMO has evolved to be a top consumer food issue … We now believe that proposing a mandatory national solution is necessary. Printing a clear and simple statement on the label is the best solution for consumers and for Campbell.”
Campbell’s line-up includes its brand-name soups as well as Pepperidge Farms, V8, Swanson, Pace and Prego.
Morrison said three-fourths of Campbell products include ingredients from corn, soybeans, canola or sugar beets, said the New York Times. “The change in labeling is expected to take 12 to 18 months,” said the newspaper. Almost all of the corn, soybeans and sugar beets grown in the United States are genetically engineered.
Neither GMA nor labeling advocates had immediate comment on Campbell’s announcement.