The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act aims to stem the tide of state legislative efforts to mandate labeling of food products containing genetically modified ingredients.
Drafted by U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo (R.-Kan.), the legislation also requires the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to specify a maximum permissible level of inadvertent GMO presence that is allowed in foods bearing non-GMO labeling, according to Reuters.
Pompeo said that, under the legislation, companies would not be prohibited from labeling their products as free of GMOs, but it does preempt any state ballot initiatives that create a GMO label for products grown with biotechnology.
Hearings are expected on the bill sometime this summer.