Which Products Will Carry the GMO Label?

While there is no conclusive study that shows just how many foods contain GMOs and will have to carry the new label, the reality is that almost anything with corn or soybeans will fall under the category.

More than 90%  of both crops are bioengineered in the U.S., and corn and soy derivatives go into many processed foods. Much of the sugar produced derives from sugar beets, nearly all of which are genetically engineered. Somewhere between 60% and 70% of processed foods on the market today have a GM ingredient, but here is the kicker: Many of those foods may not require a label, according to the proposed rules.

Highly processed ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup have little to no traceable DNA in them, and so the U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn’t require manufacturers to add a label to indicate those bioengineered foods. Corn syrup and soybean oil are in tens of thousands of foods, and they won’t carry the BE label.

USDA regulations allow companies to choose between three options: write out the warning (as in “contains a bioengineered food ingredient”), include a BE label, or use a QR code that would link the consumer to a page disclosing all the information.

The GM crops grown for human consumption are corn, soybeans, canola, sugar beets, papaya, squash, eggplant, potatoes and apples.