On Friday, Campbell Soup confirmed that it supports mandatory national labeling of food containing genetically modified ingredients (GMOs). Instead, she cited changes in approach due to GMOs becoming an important issue for Campbell consumers.
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Campbell said late on Thursday that if a federal solution is not achieved in some time, it was prepared to label all its US products for the presence of ingredients that were derived from GMOs and would seek guidance from the FDA and approval by the USDA.
Until recently, Campbell – as a member of the GMA – had supported the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act (H.R. 1599 ), which would pre-empt state laws that mandate GMO labeling and set up a federal voluntary “non-GMO” labeling system run by the USDA. “We welcome the opportunity to work with Campbell’s and other food leaders to quickly develop a solution that gives consumers the same information as consumers in 64 other nations”.
Blumenthal is seeking reelection this year and could be running against CNBC television’s financial commentator Larry Kudlow, a Fairfield County Republican who has not made any official announcements about running. The rules also would ban foodmakers from advertising products as “natural” when they contain GMO ingredients.
Campbell’s has a wide variety of foods, some better than others, but – GMO or not -something like a soup with 24 grams of sugar is not generally part of a healthy diet.
According to Bloomberg Business, Campbell Soup “continues to oppose a patchwork of state-by-state labeling laws, which it believes are incomplete, impractical and create unnecessary confusion for customers”, according to the statement.
“We applaud Campbell’s for supporting national, mandatory GMO labeling”, Scott Faber, senior vice president of government affairs at EWG said.
“Campbell continues to recognize that G.M.O.s are safe as the science indicates that foods derived from crops grown using genetically modified seeds are not nutritionally different from other foods”, the company said. Also, SVP Anthony Disilvestro sold 40,000 shares of Campbell Soup Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 8th.
With its support for national GMO labeling, Campbell said it will withdraw from all efforts led by coalitions and groups opposing such measures.
The OTA said the move “sends a clear message to Monsanto and the GMA“, while Just Label It said Campbell’s move took supporters of mandatory GMO labeling “closer to reaching that goal [of a federal mandatory GMO labeling law]”.
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“This commonsense decision by Campbells – and all of Campbell’s brands, including the iconic CT company Pepperidge Farm – will enable consumers to make informed decisions about the food they and their families eat”, he said.
