National Potato Council praises advancement of federal labeling bill

The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture approved the Biotechnology Labeling Solutions legislation introduced by Chairman Pat Roberts that will provide for permanent federal preemption of state food labeling laws. The bill was reported favorably out of committee by a vote of 14 to 6 and now awaits a full vote on the Senate floor. The National Potato Council (NPC) released a statement praising Chairman Roberts and his committee colleagues for advancing the legislation:

This measure would give consumers, businesses and farmers uniform standards based on federal determination of food label requirements for all foods including those made with genetically modified organisms (GMO). A patchwork of state food labeling laws will increase costs to consumers by increasing processing and packaging costs. Enacting a national voluntary food labeling standard would eliminate those consequences in the marketplace. The committee’s approval comes at a critical time with the Vermont mandatory labeling law set to take effect in July.

U.S. potato growers are happy to see this legislation move forward,” said NPC Executive Vice President John Keeling. “We are confident that both sides of the aisle in the Senate will reach a bipartisan compromise on any of the remaining issues.”