Mandatory labels alerting customers that products containing ingredients from genetically engineered plants may hurt sales – at least in the short term – according to a new study from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences in the US.
The report sheds light on the potential repercussions of the newly introduced National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, which mandates all US-based producers to disclose these ingredients, enacted last January.
The study analyzed sales trend data from Vermont after a law there went into effect requiring labels on genetically engineered foods – the only mandatory statewide genetically engineered labeling policy that has ever been implemented in the US.
Linlin Fan, assistant professor of agricultural economics at Penn State, remarks how the findings offer insights about how a new law mandating labels on genetically engineered foods nationwide in the US will affect sales trends.
“We know that genetically engineered products are safe, but many are concerned that mandatory labeling would lead to people rejecting these products and increased problems with food insecurity,” she explains.
“While we did see a small decrease in sales, it wasn’t a large effect, and we also found that attitudes about genetically engineered products improved over time.”
History of agri-food genomics
According to the researchers, genetically engineered and genetically modified organisms, often referred to as GMOs, are essentially the same thing but used in different contexts, both referring to humans altering an organism’s DNA or RNA.
In a food context, scientists this year have managed to tweak the genes of chickpeas to deliver a higher protein content, while others have modified soybean crops to photosynthesize more efficiently or raise the antioxidant properties in bananas.
The Penn State researchers note that foods containing genetically engineered plants have been available since the 1990s.
The US’ recently introduced National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard requires manufacturers to label genetically engineered foods, which the law defines as those that “contain detectable genetic material that has been modified through certain lab techniques and cannot be created through conventional breeding or found in nature.”
According to Fan, many food manufacturers traditionally have opposed such laws, worried that these labels can hurt the sales of genetically engineered products.
“While studies have consistently found that genetically engineered products are safe to eat, about 50% of US consumers believe that these products are worse for their health than non-genetically engineered products," she highlights.
“We wanted to analyze the effects of Vermont’s mandatory labeling law as a case study to see how the new nationwide law may affect sales of genetically engineered products.”
Analyzing statewide consumer records
The Penn State researchers found that after the Vermont law was implemented, sales of foods labeled as containing these modified ingredients decreased by 5.9%.
Meanwhile, sales of products labeled as not containing genetically engineered ingredients increased by 2.5%, and sales of organic products – which by law cannot contain such ingredients – increased by 1.7%.
For the study, the researchers analyzed sales data from InfoScan, an Information Resources Inc. system that includes barcode-level sales records at major regional and national chain stores.
They compared data from Vermont in 2016 after the state implemented Act 120 to data from Oregon and Washington, which were close to passing a statewide mandatory genetically engineered labeling law but failed to do so.
Data included the sales records of canned soups labeled as containing genetically engineered ingredients as required under the new law. The researchers also studied sales trends of organic products and products labeled “non-GMO,” since these could be seen as alternatives for customers who did not want to buy the genetically engineered-labeled products.
Notably, the researchers found a decrease in sales of genetically engineered foods while the labeling law was in effect – a trend that reversed once the law was repealed.
“Once the law was no longer in effect, sales of genetically engineered-labeled products actually increased by 6%, suggesting improved attitudes toward genetically engineered products over time,” Fan comments.
“This could be because people became more familiar and comfortable with these products.”
The study was published recently in the journal Food Policy. It was supported by the US Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Still too early to determine?
While it is still too early to know how the new National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard will affect sales of GE products, Fan notes the effects may be smaller than what they found in their current study.
“The law in Vermont was stricter than the new policy enacted earlier this year,” she says.
“Vermont required products containing at least 0.9% of GE ingredients to have a disclaimer. The new national law has a higher cut-off of 5%.”
“Additionally, the Vermont law required a written disclaimer on the label, but with the federal law, there are other options like a smart label that you scan with your phone,” she notes.
Fan says in the future, additional studies could be done on the effects of the new National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard law, as well as the long-term effects of such policies.
Globally, there are disparities across each country’s approach to genomic research. September 2021, the UK announced it would be relaxing its policy surrounding the science of gene editing – in what was hailed as “a major boost for UK science.”
