THE HILL: Feinstein to Obama: Move without Congress on GMOs

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http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/business/193833-feinstein-to-obama-move-without-congress-on-gmos

December 22, 2013, 11:18 am
Feinstein to Obama: Move without Congress on GMOs
By Ben Goad


Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is urging President Obama to use the power of his office to require labels on food containing genetically engineered ingredients.

Legislation pending in both the House and Senate would force companies to tell consumers which products contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs), though there is no clear path forward in the divided Congress.

Major agriculture and biotechnology firms oppose the effort, and have poured millions of dollars into campaigns to defeat state ballot initiatives seeking to mandate a labeling system.

But Feinstein contends that imposing a federal labeling system could be achieved through a simple directive from the president to his Food and Drug Administration.

“Your administration should re-evaluate the Food and Drug Administration’s outdated policy that genetically engineered food does not need to disclose this fact on required labels,” the California Democrat wrote Friday in a letter to Obama.

“It is my view that the FDA does have the authority to require labeling for genetically engineered food products,” she said.

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