U.S. unlikely to require labels on biotech foodsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal government is not likely to require U.S. manufacturers and grocery stores to put labels on genetically modified food, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said on Monday. "I, at this stage, do not see any of what I call mandatory or regulatory activities taking place from the government which will order anybody to do anything with respect to these issues, whether its labelling or anything else," Glickman told reporters at a news conference to discuss USDAs priorities for this year. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently completed a series of public hearings on what, if any, changes should be made in how the federal government regulates genetically modified foods and crops. American consumer and environmentalist groups have pressed the government to tighten up regulations and require labels on foods made with altered soybeans, corn and other ingredients. Labels are required in the European Union and several other countries, where consumer resistance to biotech foods has been much greater. The FDAs regulation of biotech food and crops is shared with the USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency. Top officials of all three agencies have been "discussing these issues," Glickman said. "We want to hear from our FDA friends some more formal reporting about how they view these particular (public) hearings." Glickman also said that the U.S. food industry has been trying to find ways to give consumers more information about genetically modified foods. "The industry has become very engaged with us on trying to see if there are ways they can work these issues themselves," he said. The USDAs new biotechnology advisory committee, formed last year, should have some proposals "within the next 30 to 60 days" to help guide public policy, Glickman said. The group is made up of representatives "from various sectors of both agriculture and non-agriculture to help us deal with these particular problems," he said.
