New BioEngineered Food Disclosure Standard

New BioEngineered Food Disclosure Standard

As we start 2020, the implementation date for the new BioEngineered Food Disclosure Standard is now in place.  (add link: https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/be)

The standard requires a disclosure on a label or by other means for any foods that are or may be bioengineered.   This law covers many issues, including:  it preempts any state bioengineered labeling laws; defines that animals that consumed bioengineered feeds are not considered bioengineered; and provides that foods that do not meet the labeling requirement cannot be recalled because of non-compliance to the BE labeling disclosure.

In December 2018, USDA published the final rule (7CFR Part 66) with an implementation date of January 1, 2020, except for small food manufacturers, whose implementation date is January 1, 2021. The mandatory compliance date is January 1, 2022, however regulated entities may voluntarily comply with the standard until December 31, 2021

The current AMS list of Bioengineered foods includes:

  • alfalfa,
  • Arctic varieties of apples
  • Canola
  • Corn
  • Cotton
  • eggplant (only BARI Bt Begun varieties)
  • papaya (only ringspot virus-resistant varieties
  • pineapple, (pink flesh varieties)
  • potatoes
  • salmon (only the AquAdvantage)
  • soybeans,
  • (summer squash),
  •  sugar beet.

For more information, please see the USDA AMS website.   Contact your SPI Group representative for more details about how this may apply to ingredients supplied by SPI Group.