The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued an updated Labeling Guideline on Statements That Bioengineered or Genetically-Modified Ingredients or Animal Feed Were Not Used in Meat, Poultry, Or Egg Products (Guideline). The updated Guideline clarifies that FSIS will approve negative claims verified under a third-party certifying organization the same way it approves other special statements or claims and will not limit claims to those consistent with the Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS’s) definition of “bioengineering.” FSIS also added information about labeling for certified organic products. This memorandum provides background on the Guideline and summarizes the changes FSIS made in response to comments received after the initial Guideline was released in August 2016.
