The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) recently submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard.
The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, or the national GMO labeling rule, is intended to require the disclosure of bioengineered food ingredients, according to AFBF’s Newsline.
The standard was signed into law last year and gave USDA two years to come up with a rule by July 2018.
AFBF Congressional Relations Director Andrew Walmsley told Newsline the USDA must not confuse consumers on the safety of biotech crops.
“The biggest thing for farmers is that we follow the law, we follow science and it’s implemented in a way that doesn’t disparage a perfectly safe and very important tool that farmers need to meet the challenges of the future,” he said. “This isn’t a health or safety or nutrition standard. It’s purely a marketing standard. And so, keeping that in mind as any rule is being developed, that it is for marketing purposed and a good opportunity to provide more information to consumers.”
The comment period ended Friday, Aug 25. The agency is expected to release a proposed rule later this fall.