The products of food biotechnology are subject to the same labeling requirements applied to all foods in the U.S. marketplace by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There is no inherent health risk in the use of biotechnology to develop new food products, the FDA concluded. Therefore, no label is required simply to identify foods as products of biotechnology.

Current policy does require a label on biotechnology products to inform consumers of any potential health or safety risk. For example, if a protein that commonly poses an allergy risk is introduced to a food product, a label is required under current law.

Common allergens include milk, eggs, wheat, fish, crustacea, tree nuts and legumes (especially peanuts and soybeans). For example, if a gene transfer moves a peanut protein to another food, the question of allergenicity is raised. Unless the producer can prove irrefutably that the transgenic protein will not stimulate allergic response, a product label warning consumers of the peanut protein would be required.

If protein from a commonly allergenic food is transferred, the new product is presumed "guilty" of presenting a risk of allergy until proven otherwise - and a product label is required.

A label is also required under current policy if a food is transformed so that its nutrient content no longer conforms with the normal expectations for a given food, such as a tomato. If the vitamin C content of a tomato was altered to levels significantly above or below the normal range, a label would be required to inform consumers of this change.

Consumer research by the International Food Information Council finds that once it's explained, 78 percent of consumers agree with the current FDA labeling policy. Few consumers wish to pay increased food prices simply to cover the cost of getting foods labeled "biotechnology."

Why would it cost more to label all food biotechnology products?
Foods would need to be segregated, or "identity preserved," to separate items that are genetically modified and those that are not. For high-value products such as some fresh fruits and vegetables, and grains, preserving identity often is already part of the food delivery system. However, for commodity products such as corn and soybeans, the cost to segregate the product would exceed the added value of the genetic modification. It's simple economics: the price would have to go up to cover the cost to segregate.