Victory! Center for Food Safety Secures Win for the Public’s Right to Know in GMO Labeling Lawsuit

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – A federal court of appeals decision handed down today overturned a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule on the disclosure of genetically engineered (GE or GMO) foods. The case challenged the USDA rulemaking which applied the 2016 federal law mandating GMO labeling, now called “Bioengineered.” USDA had exempted “highly refined” or ultra-processed GMO foods—such as corn and soy oils—from disclosure, a loophole the court today held unlawful. The court of appeals also held today that the lower court abused its discretion regarding USDA’s use of “QR code” or smartphone labeling in the rule: the district court had previously held that USDA’s reliance on “QR code” labeling alone on packages without other forms of disclosure was unlawful, but had nonetheless left such products on market shelves. The court of appeals determined that remedy was an error and instead held that the QR code section should be vacated, or made null and void. With the prior rule now struck down as unlawful in several ways, the court sent the issue back to USDA to redo in a future new rulemaking compliant with today’s opinion and order. The case was successfully litigated by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) on behalf of a coalition of nonprofit labeling advocates and organic retailers.

“Today’s decision is a landmark victory for the public’s right to know what they eat and feed their families,” said George Kimbrell, CFS’s Legal Director and lead counsel in the case. “We’ve fought for decades for GMO labeling, as required by more than 60 other countries, and today’s decision is a crucial culmination of those hard-fought efforts. QR codes alone do not provide meaningful access to all Americans, and USDA now will have to remedy that failing and provide accessible labeling. We are gratified that the Court has struck down USDA’s loophole for ultra-processed GMO foods, the vast majority of which have been genetically engineered for increased pesticide tolerance.”