Animal products, foods with USDA-approved labels exempt from Vermont’s GMO labeling

The Vermont GMO labeling regulations exempt “animal products and foods bearing USDA-approved labels” from the labeling requirements.

According to the North American Meat Institute, “This exemption applies to foods consisting entirely of or derived entirely from an animal not produced with GE, regardless of whether the animal was fed or injected with a food, drug or other substance produced using genetic engineering. The exemption also applies to packaged processed food containing meat or poultry bearing a label approved by USDA.”

Vermont’s GMO labeling requirements become effective July 1, but enforcement will not begin until Jan. 1, 2017. The U.S. Senate is still trying to find an alternative to state GMO labeling requirements.