The Center for Food Safety filed a legal appeal against the USDA in response to its genetically engineered labeling rules.
The organization says those rules do not mandate clear on-package food labeling and allow unlabeled hidden GMOs to proliferate in the U.S. food marketplace. The CFS was victorious in a 2022 district court ruling in its original USDA lawsuit, which found it unlawful to use inaccessible digital QR codes on food products instead of clear and accessible labeling. Despite the decision, the court refused to vacate USDA’s decision allowing this practice.
“USDA is hiding the presence of the majority of GMO food ingredients from American consumers with its exemption for highly-refined foods despite a law passed by Congress,” says Meredith Stevenson, CFS attorney. “The Court rubber-stamped USDA’s decision to exclude highly refined foods like sodas and oils from labeling and use unfamiliar terminology, keeping consumers in the dark about their food.”
