WASHINGTON – Loopholes proposed by the Trump administration could exempt more than 10,000 – or one out of six – genetically modified foods from a new GMO disclosure law, according to a new analysis by EWG.
The draft rule may exempt foods produced with GMOs if the food products contain highly refined GMO sugars and oils.
There is a high rate of adoption for GMO crops like corn, soybeans, canola and sugar beets, meaning that ingredients derived from these crops have a high likelihood of being GMO.
Based on an analysis of ingredient-level information for more than 105,000 food products in EWG’s Food Scores database, EWG estimated that roughly 67,111 food products contain at least one of these ingredients, which are likely produced with genetic engineering. One out of six, or 10,889, GMO foods only contain a highly refined sugar or oil that is likely produced with genetic engineering. These food products would be exempt from the disclosure requirement if the loophole is included in the final rule.
Another Trump administration loophole would exempt products from the disclosure requirement when the GMO ingredients make up less than 5 percent of the product by weight.
“These Trump administration loopholes will leave thousands of GMO foods hidden in plain sight on store shelves, and will continue to deny American consumers the right to know what’s in their food,” said EWG Legislative Director Colin O’Neil. “The hallmark of the Trump administration is hiding the truth from the public on any number of issues – now it’s plying that trade with the food we buy and feed our families.”
“Roughly one in six foods made with GMOs will escape the new disclosure law due to pressure from certain members of the food industry and chemical agriculture,” added O’Neil. “President Trump is appeasing the interests of a handful of food and agribusiness corporations over the demands of 90 percent of Americans who believe they have the right to know if their food is altered by scientists in a lab.”
