Consumer Acceptance of Genetically Modified Foods: Traits, Labels, and Diverse Information - Transgenic Horticultural Crops: Challenges and Opportunities - page 199

GM. content. has. not. been. shown. to. have. negative. human. health. consequences..
Nevertheless,.with.foods.made.currently.from.crop.varieties.that.contain.GM.input.
traits,.adding.a.label.for.GM.content.would.be.an.example.of.labeling.a.negative.food.
attribute.
Genetically.engineered.products.used.for.food,.however,.do.have.to.pass.a.food.
safety. test.. In.1992,. the. FDA. announced.its. landmark. decision.that. GM. food. and.
food.products.will.be.regulated.the.same.as.those.created.by.conventional.means..
This.policy.allows.new.GM.foods.to.be.treated.as.conventional.foods.as.long.as.they.
meet.three.conditions:.their.nutritional.value.has.not.been.lowered;.they.incorporate.
new.substances.that.are.already.a.part.of.the.human.diet;.and.they.contain.no.new.
allergenic.substances..In.January.2001,.the.FDA.issued.a.“Guidance.for.Industry”.
statement. reafirming. this.policy.. In. this. statement,. the. FDA.stated.to. the. biotech.
industry.that.the.only.GM.foods.that.need.to.be.labeled.are.foods.that.have.different.
characteristics.from.the.non-GM.version,.for.example,.elevated.vitamin.A.levels..In.
the. United. States,. labeling. food. for. GM. content. is. not. otherwise. required.. Firms,.
however,. are. to. notify. the. FDA. at. least. 4. months. before. putting. a. new. GM. food.
product.on.the.market,.and.the.scientiic.description.of.the.product.is.posted.on.the.
Internet.for.review.during.this.time. 20 .Only.minor.changes.have.been.made.in.these.
guidelines.since.2001.
Hence,.the.GM-labeling.policy.in.the.United.States.can.be.classiied.as.being.volun-
tary..If.a.voluntary.label.is.afixed,.the.FDA.has.mandated.that.it.cannot.use.the.phrase.
“genetically.modiied.”.The.FDA.prefers.the.phrase.“genetically.engineered”.or.“made.
through.biotechnology.”*.Effective.GM.labeling,.however,.involves.real.costs,.espe-
cially.the.costs.of.testing.for.the.presence.of.GM.content,.segregating.GM.and.non-GM.
products,.variable.costs.of.monitoring.for.truthfulness.of.labeling.and.enforcement.of.
the.regulations.that.exist,.and.risk.premiums.for.being.out.of.contract. 21,22
An. effective. GM-labeling. policy. includes. effective. segregation. of. GM. from.
non-GM. commodities.. If. one. or. the. other. of. these. products. could. be. inexpen-
sively.color.coded,.segregation.might.not.be.very. expensive..If,.however,. iden-
tity. preservation. through. the. production,. marketing,. and. processing. chain. was.
required,. this. system. would. be. substantially. more. costly. 21 . To. the. extent. that.
there.is.a.market.for.non-GM.products,.buyers.would.be.expected.to.specify.in.
their.purchase.contracts.some.limit.on.GM.content.and/or.precise.prescriptions.
regarding.production/marketing/handling.processes..One.can.envision.a.market-
place. of. buyers. with. differentiated. demand. according. to. their. aversion. to. GM.
content..To.make.this.differentiation.effective,.new.costs.and.risks.are.incurred..
Additional. testing. involves. costs. of. conducting. the. tests,. for. which. there. are.
several.technologies.of.varying.accuracy..The.risk.is.that.GM.products.will.be.
commingled.with.non-GM.products,.so.the.detection.system.must.test.to.see.that.
customers'.shipments.are.within.contract.limits.for.GM.content..This.is.a.serious.
* . In. contrast,. the. European. Commission. adopted. GM. food. labels. in. 1997.. The. Commission. requires.
each. member. country. to. enact. a. law. requiring. labeling. of. all. new. products. containing. substances.
derived.from.GM.organisms..Japan,.Australia,.and.many.other.countries.have.also.passed.laws.requir-
ing. GM. labels. for. major. foods.. The. international. environmental. lobby. has. frequently. argued. that.
“consumers.have.the.right.to.know.whether.their.food.is.GM.or.not.” 23