Labeling Requirements for Bioengineered Crops in US

Unsuspecting consumers continue to face the possibility that a gene protein from a food they are allergic to and want to avoid may be inserted into another food. Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) newest food labeling rule regulating the disclosure of genetically modified ingredients in foods went into effect in January and uses the term “bioengineered food.”

A bioengineered food “has been modified through certain lab techniques and cannot be created through conventional breeding or found in nature,” according to the USDA definition. The modifications produce a desired trait, such as pesticide resistance, a larger-sized product, greater crop yield, or resistance to browning and decay, to name a few.