December 2, 2015
Consumers Union statement on Grocery Manufacturers Associations’ new SmartLabel Initiative
Jean Halloran, Director of Food Policy Initiatives at Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, today made the following statement about the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s new SmartLabel initiative, which was touted as a way for people to get information about whether food and other household products are genetically engineered by scanning a bar code or doing an online search to reach a landing page:
“This initiative by GMA does not meet consumers’ demand for GMO labeling. Plus, the program is voluntary. A new poll released today by Consumers Union and several other groups found that 88 percent of likely voters prefer on-package labels, while only 8 percent prefer information via a barcode. Consumers want clear, legible, easy to read, on-package labeling of GMO foods.
“This SmartLabel is no substitute for mandatory, national on-labeling of GMO food—including engineered animals like salmon and engineered produce and processed food.”