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A federal court ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) made a "mistake" by allowing food corporations to label products containing genetically modified (GE) ingredients using complicated QR codes instead of clear words. A USDA rule that went into effect earlier this year requires foods made with genetically modified (GMO) ingredients to be labeled in some clear way, the simplest specified way being the word "bioengineered." . If food manufacturers don't like using words, then the USDA specified that a QR code will suffice. The court decided that the USDA's stipulation of a QR code instead of clear labeling is unacceptable because this "stand-alone electronic disclosure" does not conform to the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, which was passed six years ago as an amendment to the Agricultural Marketing Law.

of 1946. That law was passed in an effort to override individual state laws that require foods made with GMO soy, corn, and their respective derivatives to be listed on product packaging. (Related: Eleven years ago, MSNBC conducted a poll that found nearly 90 percent of the country wants GMOs to be clearly labeled.) The judge said a QR code without actual words or other labels does not give consumers "sufficient access" to the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions at the grocery store. https://www.newstarget.com/2022-09-20-court-usda-food-label-gmo-ingredients-qr.html  (09/20/2022)

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