BioChecked™ Meets FDA Guidelines for Labeling Non Genetically Engineered Food – BioChecked™ an independent third party for non genetically engineered food certification recently announced that it meets the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) recent guidelines for labeling indicating whether foods have not been derived from genetically engineered plants.
Scott Prentice, Executive Director for BioChecked™ said, after careful review of the new FDA’s guideline for labeling non Genetically engineered food, it was clear that his company meets the newest guidelines.
Manufacturers often voluntarily provide information on their labels beyond the information required by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) or FDA regulations. Their reasons for doing so may have to do with marketing or providing information of specific interest to their customers. This guidance addresses the voluntary labeling of plant-derived foods with information concerning whether the food was or was not produced using genetic engineering. Many consumers are interested in knowing whether a food was produced using genetic engineering and some manufacturers want to respond to this consumer interest.
Mr. Prentice indicates that the BioChecked™ Non Genetically Engineered Certified™ program and the Non Genetically Engineered Verified™ program and seal for manufacture labels are one of the only labels that he knows of that actually uses the correct language in the FDA’s new guidelines.
For labels, the FDA doesn’t particularly like the term “GMO,” mostly because the “O” refers to the word “organism” — and it’s not really clear what that means, however, FDA does not intend to take enforcement action against a label using the acronym “GMO” in a statement indicating that the product (or an ingredient) was not produced through the use of modern biotechnology, as long as the food is, in fact, not derived from a genetically engineered plant and the food’s labeling is not otherwise false or misleading.
Phrasing the FDA likes better is “Genetically engineered”
Mr. Prentice was specifically referring to the section that Food manufacturers may voluntarily label their foods with information about whether the 
foods were not produced using bioengineering, as long as such information is truthful and not misleading. In general, an accurate statement about whether a food was not produced using bioengineering is one that provides information in a context that clearly refers to bioengineering technology.
Examples of such statements include:
“Not bioengineered.”
“Not genetically engineered.”
“Not genetically modified through the use of modern biotechnology.”
“We do not use ingredients that were produced using modern biotechnology.”
BioChecked™ has several independent third party certification programs for businesses, organizations, producers and individuals that have become or want to become leaders in environmental and consumer health friendly actions.
BioChecked™ brands have become the leading industry “Marks of Consumer Environmental and Health Awareness”. Their leading brands consist of: Non Genetically Engineered Certified™, Non Genetically Engineered Verified™ and Glyphosate Free Certified™.
