New survey stirs the debate on food labeling clarity

In March, a public-interest food coalition called Just Label It released the results of a survey they found that 91 percent of respondents favor labeling food that contains genetically modified (GM) ingredients. The survey also found that 64 percent of respondents believe there’s a difference between GM and non-GM food.

Although about 40 countries require labels for GM food, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated that the labeling is unnecessary. According to National Public Radio (NPR), the FDA says that GM food is the same as any other food and puts the public at no safety risk.

Label clarity in the American food industry has been a controversial area recently. As more citizens display a strong desire for transparency from food companies and the ingredients they use in processing and packaging their food – according to NPR, nearly 80 percent of foods sold in the United States contain GM ingredients – the debate still continues between natural and organic food labels.

An April 17 article by Greener Ideas examines the ambiguous difference between “natural” and “organic” food. According to Greener Ideas, natural foods are minimally-processed and additive free. But, most foods that are labeled natural are not subject to government regulations and codes, making it hard to trust most labels.

On the other hand, for foods to be labeled organic they must adhere to the strict regulations set by the National Organic Program, which assess everything from basic farming and pesticide controls to animal diets. Furthermore, organic farms are subject to state inspections that they must pass in order to keep their organic label that can, oftentimes, be an essential part of their product’s label and packaging as it attracts potential customers.

If local grocers or food processors want to test improved clarity with their products and labels, they may want to invest a color label printer to produce and design custom labels for a short run before implementing the strategy permanently.