National bioengineered food disclosure standard: QR codes for GMO food labels

The new U.S. bioengineered food disclosure standard for using QR codes presents a ripe opportunity for food manufacturers.

The company is the world’s best Gm Qr Code supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.

The new National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) requires that any food with bioengineered ingredients state so directly on the packaging, and provides acceptable disclosure methods to do so. Compliance doesn&#;t need to be costly or difficult thanks to the fact that QR codes are an acceptable disclosure mechanism. The same QR codes also offer additional benefits to brands and customers, like traceability data and customer engagement. In this article you will learn:

• What counts as bioengineered foods?
• What is the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard
• Why QR codes are ideal for complying with the law and why they are called out in the new standard
• How to set up QR codes for use on packaging, quickly and reliably

What counts as bioengineered foods?

Bioengineered (BE) foods, commonly referred to as those containing GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms), are foods that contain one or more ingredients that have been genetically modified through in vitro rDNA or other methods not found in nature.

These ingredients &#; generally crops &#; are often designed to be more resistant to pests, weather conditions, or more abundant in vitamins. Most people know very little about the GMO process, to what extent our food products contain GMOs, and how these processes may or may not affect our health. That has put bioengineered foods at the center of controversy in the last few decades.

Unfortunately, misinformation dominates the conversation around whether bioengineered food is harmful. Ironically, studies point out that people opposed to or with negative opinions of products that include genetically modified organisms often don&#;t actually know what they are. The best thing that companies producing food with bioengineered ingredients can do is give consumers access to more information about their products. In any case, now that the bioengineered food disclosure standard is a law, some degree of this information sharing is a legal requirement anyway.

What is the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard?

In July , Congress directed the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a mandatory standard to disclose foods that are bioengineered, partially to address the lack of information and familiarity with bioengineered foods. Due to a request from the U.S. Congress, the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS, or &#;the Standard&#;) was released in .

The Standard requires that food retailers, manufacturers, and importers disclose whether foods for retail sale are or may be bioengineered. However, statements about the impact that bioengineered foods may have on health are not a part of the requirement. The NBFDS clearly states:

&#;Nothing in the disclosure requirements set out in this final rule conveys information about the health, safety, or environmental attributes of BE food as compared to non-BE counterparts.&#;

As of January 1st, , you&#;ll start to see more &#;bioengineered&#; tags on food labels in America. But again, this only requires a simple disclosure of the presence of bioengineered ingredients. Getting more in-depth information about what&#;s in your food still falls entirely on the decisions that brands make about how and which information to disclose.

Bioengineered food label requirements and QR codes

According to the NBFD standard, &#;bioengineered food disclosure must be large enough and displayed prominently so that it is likely to be read and understood by the consumer under normal shopping conditions.&#; The standard includes five options for how food manufacturers can disclose this information:

1. Written directly on the package, e.g. &#;bioengineered food.&#;
2. A USDA approved symbol
3. A digital link, such as a QR code, with clear instructions, e.g. &#;Scan here for more food information.&#; or &#;Visit the website for more food information.&#;
4. A text message option prompting the consumer to request product information with a statement like, &#;Text [command word] to [number] for bioengineered food information.&#;
5. A number or URL that consumers can call or visit for more food information.

QR codes are the recommended in the national bioengineered food disclosure standard

The most interesting option offered in the bioengineered food disclosure standard is for an electronic or digital link as the mechanism to share the disclosure. While the standard doesn&#;t dictate exactly which technology must be used, it does call out two tools: QR codes, which are visible to the naked eye on packaging, and digital watermarks, which are invisible. Both options, even the invisible watermark, allow someone to scan the label with a smartphone to receive more information on the food&#;s ingredients. Both options must be accompanied by clear instructions on how to scan the food package for more information, as well as a number for those who do not have a smartphone. In fact, studies show that a clear call to action or instruction accompanying a QR code significantly increases scan rates. Either way, scan rates have been increasing across the board with QR codes being used now more than ever.

Even though the NBFDS mandatory compliance date of January 1st, means it&#;s already a requirement, and the standard was first passed and proposed several years ago, retailers and manufacturers are still figuring out the best way to disclose GMO or bioengineered ingredient information to consumers. The stigma surrounding bioengineered foods remains strong because of ignorance. This raises the concern that having a simple label won&#;t give enough information to educate consumers. If the consumer doesn&#;t know what &#;bioengineered&#; really means, then a label without more detailed information certainly won&#;t do much toward making them feel confident in a purchase they already have reservations about.

The national bioengineered food disclosure standard is meant to give consumers information as easily as possible

Headlines caught the attention of British consumers in with a story about food inspectors finding horse meat and, in some cases, pork in meat products that were labeled as &#;beef&#;. In some instances, the content of non-beef products was 100%. Major brands, like IKEA and Tesco, were caught by surprise. At its core, the scandal was about people being appalled that they&#;d been deceived. In some of the worst cases, people who&#;s religious beliefs prohibit them from eating specific items, like pork, found that the deceit was very personal. Withholding information about what is in food products, whether intentionally or not, will always have the potential to be catastrophic for companies. The best approach is always full disclosure.

Food labels have typically been designed for simplicity &#; they will usually provide just enough information but not so much as to create confusion. That may sound theoretical, but we&#;ve seen time and again that being caught doing too little has immediate consequences and long-term costs for brands.

QR codes are ideal because they allow a simple way for consumers to engage with a product without the need for much space on package designs. They can also provide exceptionally useful scan interaction data; indeed, the data this kind of package interaction generates can directly improve the bottom line of food and fast-moving goods companies.

The solution: QR codes and GMO food labeling

QR codes are an opportunity for food manufacturers to comply with basic requirements while also opening up access to the benefits of increasingly used connected packaging technology. Creating an information portal using a QR code on the packaging is forward-thinking for food manufacturers because of this. When a consumer scans a QR code on food with bioengineered ingredients, they will likely move on past the bioengineered food disclosure compliance details to access other information that a brand offers them: content like a product origin story, compelling media content, or promotional campaigns to engage loyalty. All of these are made possible.

How does connected packaging relate to the national bioengineered food disclosure standard?

QR codes integrated with packaging give products a digital identity. This digital identity becomes a gateway to reveal aspects about the product that wouldn&#;t be immediately evident. This creates a unique opportunity to share and collect information about food products on a unit-by-unit basis &#; an almost unbelievable level of granularity. A product with a digital identity can even have anti-counterfeiting properties as a feature of its digital identity tag. The QR code data can be managed in the QR code management system, and when a product is scanned, the scanning data becomes visible to the company.

Having a solid customer engagement strategy is paramount, especially when it comes to bioengineered foods. This is where product scan data, collected throughout a product&#;s journey and as it makes its way from the factory to market, starts to shine. Supply chain traceability data can be combined with customer engagement tools to convert product packaging into a new marketing channel. From this point, you can run segmented, location-based, or product variation-based campaigns. Scantrust software gives brand owners all the tools they need to do this along with other, welcome benefits. Imagine printing QR codes on an entire production batch even though you aren&#;t yet sure which location they will be shipped to and sold in. Usually, this would mean production might be delayed or complicated. With dynamic QR codes, customer engagement campaigns based on links embedded in the codes can be managed even after products are in market, providing very helpful flexibility in supply chain tracking, marketing, and sales engagement efforts.

Scantrust QR codes provide the means to easily see where a product has been and where it ends up based on scan interaction data. While this data is valuable to the food product manufacturers, consumers react well to insights on where products originate and the routes taken to end for products to end up on the local supermarket shelf. This is the kind of transparency that builds trust for products and brands.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Barcode Scanner for Book Inventory.

Especially for products that may require a more detailed explanation, like bioengineered foods, QR codes are a direct way to deliver information. As alluded to previously in this article, studies show that consumers are interested and want to see a disclosure of what goes into their food, even when they may not understand everything they&#;re reading on the label.

Are QR codes safe?

According to a survey, over 90% of people in the U.S. claim they believe QR codes are a &#;reliable source of information,&#; while 83% of people in the UK see them as a &#;safe way to access information.&#; There is an abundance of opportunities for consumers to use QR codes in a variety of settings that have established familiarity and have cemented people&#;s comfort with scanning them.

QR codes are also playing an increasingly wider role in enabling supply chain traceability all over the world. Tracking supply chain data has been an integral part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture&#;s approach in defining standards for bioengineered products. In fact, the NBFDS indicates that supply chain records can serve as acceptable means of proving compliance with the standard; while disclosed product origin can serve as part of the disclosure requirement for locations where bioengineered food is not grown.

QR codes show savvy consumers not only what&#;s in their food, but where it came from, where it was processed, and how it was distributed. This is information that food manufacturers need to track and that consumers want. QR codes make it simple for that information to become a consumer-facing resource.

How to get QR codes for bioengineered food labels (GMO food labels)

Scantrust has been helping companies generate and print QR codes on labels for years. By using Scantrust QR codes and consumer engagement solutions, you&#;ll get the QR codes you need for bioengineered food labels. You&#;ll also benefit from the following features:

• Enterprise QR code generation and support for getting the codes onto product packaging
• A drag-and-drop mobile web landing page editor. This provides a space for all the required disclosure information &#; no developer needed
• Real-time data from QR code scans

What you need to know about QR codes and the NBFDS

The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard was designed to be a positive change for the food industry in the U.S. While there is criticism of it and we can&#;t say it is a perfect standard, it&#;s easy to argue that the NBFDS is about giving access to information and educating consumers about what&#;s in their food. Labeling for disclosure creates consumer trust and brands that go beyond the standard by providing consumers with clear, robust, and educational information are bound to take a bigger share.

Bioengineered food manufacturers have several options on how to comply with the standard. QR codes are the best of those options &#; they are simple, effective, and a rich means of thinking beyond regulation and moving toward opportunity creation.
Food labeling can be challenging, but Scantrust has plenty of case studies and experience showing that it can be managed successfully and contribute to business improvements. If you want more information about how your business can leverage QR codes, our team is available to help and you can contact us to tell us about your challenges at any time &#;  request a Scantrust demo.

In July , Congress passed the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Law (). This law required that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) create a standard to determine how and when bioengineered foods must be labeled. Subsequently, on December 20, , the Secretary of Agriculture released the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS, ), which provided specific guidance about how the law would be implemented. Many of the disclosures identified in the NBFDS have recently been enacted and all will be required as of January 1, . Although such foods have been sold in the United States since , this law marks the first time that that the federal government will require the disclosure of bioengineered foods to consumers. In doing so, the U.S. joins more than 60 other countries that require some form of labeling or on-package disclosure of bioengineered foods or ingredients (Center for Food Safety, ).

This fact sheet describes:

1. What is counted as a bioengineered food in the NBFDS
2. What information will be included in the disclosure, and
3. How the disclosure will be communicated to consumers.

What Do the New Labels Mean for Me and My Family?

Familiar foods may soon have text or a symbol disclosing that they contain bioengineered food, or you may notice a QR (quick response) code that was not there before. This does not indicate that the food itself has changed, simply that it now must be labeled under the new law. The USDA says on their website (USDA Agricultural Marketing Services (AMS), a) that a bioengineered food disclosure is "&#;a marketing label, and does not convey any information about the health, safety, or environmental attributes of bioengineered food as compared to non-bioengineered counterparts." The new law does not change how bioengineered foods are regulated for safety or the approval process for human consumption.

When Will the Labels Appear on Foods I Purchase?

Although the new labeling system began in , bioengineered foods meeting the requirements for labeling must be labeled beginning January 1, . Some food companies have already begun voluntarily labeling their products in advance of the deadline.

Are Bioengineered Foods the Same Thing as GMOs or Genetically Modified Organisms?

Bioengineered foods are defined by the NBFDS as foods which "&#;contain genetic material that has been modified through in vitro rDNA techniques and for which the modification could not otherwise be obtained through conventional breeding or found in nature." These products are a subset of those likely familiar to most Americans as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that are produced through the process of genetic modification (GM). They are also sometimes called genetically engineered (GE) foods and/or bioengineered (BE) foods.  While there are technical differences between the different terms, "bioengineered" is the term the USDA has chosen for its labeling requirements. They have also created a very specific definition and set of rules for determining what qualifies as a bioengineered food.

What Is Considered a Bioengineered Food in the NBFDS?

As the definition states, a food that contains genetic material that has been modified through in vitro rDNA techniques is considered to be bioengineered. That means that foods in which the modified genetic material is not detectable are not considered bioengineered foods for the purposes of this labeling requirement. So, a food that is grown as a bioengineered crop but does not retain its DNA once it reaches consumers would not be considered bioengineered. This is the case with many highly refined foods and ingredients. For example, if bioengineered corn is used to make corn oil, the processing from whole corn to oil destroys its DNA and the final product would not be labeled as "bioengineered food." However, if that same corn were used in a less processed food where the DNA remained intact, it would be considered bioengineered.

Animals that have been fed bioengineered feed (such as bioengineered corn or soy) are not considered bioengineered. Only animals whose own DNA has been altered, such as bioengineered salmon, will need to be labeled as bioengineered. Bioengineered foods are also distinct from foods that were created by humans through longstanding techniques such as cross-breeding and selective breeding. Many groups interpret this requirement as also exempting foods developed using gene editing and other techniques that do not use recombinant DNA. The USDA has suggested that it will address whether to apply the labeling requirements to gene edited foods on a case-by-case basis. The USDA maintains a list of bioengineered foods that it will review annually (USDA AMS, a).

Why Was This Law Passed?

The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Law was supported by the food industry as a consistent way of informing consumers about which grocery products contain bioengineered ingredients. It was also seen as a way to create uniform, national-level labeling rules that would prevent a patchwork of state laws related to bioengineered foods that might be inconsistent across the country (Plumer, ). Concern about the development of a patchwork of state laws was based on efforts by over 30 individual states to require that "genetically engineered" foods be labeled within their borders. While state-wide referenda failed to garner majority support in California in , Washington in , and both Oregon and Colorado in , over 30 state legislatures introduced bills to label bioengineered foods. Vermont's labeling law was the first to go into effect on July 1, . However, its implementation was short-lived as the NBFDS overrides any state level regulations.

Weren't Bioengineered Foods Already Labeled?

Prior to July 1, , bioengineered foods were not required to be labeled anywhere in the United States. However, some food manufacturers have voluntarily labeled their products as containing GM or GE ingredients. For example, Campbell's, Mars, General Mills, and Kellogg's all began voluntarily labeling some products containing at least some bioengineered ingredients (though they largely used the term "genetic engineering").

More frequently, however, companies have labeled their products as not containing these ingredients (Hamilton & Raison, ). For example, many foods labels included phrases such as "GMO free." In addition to these largely unregulated manufacturer labels, there are also a number of third-party labels, where an organization will certify (for a fee) that a food product meets their requirements to be considered non-GMO. The most common third-party label is from the Non-GMO Project, which uses other third-party auditors to verify that a product contains less than 1% genetically modified ingredients and meets other requirements for their certification.

The USDA "organic" certification also requires that foods not be bioengineered, as well as additional requirements such as prohibiting specific pesticides and fertilizers (USDA AMS, b).  For shoppers looking to avoid bioengineered foods, the USDA Organic and Non-GMO Project labels have been two important ways of identifying foods that are not GMO. It is possible that a food may not qualify as "non-GMO" by some auditors while still falling outside the NBFDS law due to differences in criteria. In addition, the NBFDS specifically states that, "A food may not be considered to be 'not bioengineered,' 'non-GMO,' or any other similar claim describing the absence of bioengineering in the food solely because the food is not required to bear a disclosure that the food is bioengineered under this subchapter."

What Will Be On the New Labels Required by NBFDS?

Manufacturers can choose between four types of disclosure. Text-based disclosures, such as putting the word "Bioengineered" on the package, is permitted.

A second option is an electronic disclosure in the form of a QR (Quick Response) code along with a statement such as "scan here for more food information." The QR code must be accompanied by a number and the statement "call [ number] for more food information." Consumers with smart phones can use a QR code by pointing their camera at it, and their will automatically take them to a website with the disclosure information. The law requires that this disclosure appear on the first screen that a consumer sees when following the link from a QR code. In the interim, the QR code takes consumers to the specific product description on the SmartLabel website. That website includes additional information about nutrition, ingredients, allergens, product features and benefits (including some certifications) and other information provided by the manufacturers. Right now, consumers can go directly to the website Smartlabel.org to find a voluntary "GMO Disclosure" for thousands of products. Once the NBFDS is fully implemented, it will include disclosures about foods being bioengineered when required.

A third option is a text message disclosure that must include the statement, "Text [command word] to [number] for bioengineered food information." When a consumer uses this option, they must immediately receive a response on their mobile device with the bioengineered food disclosure.

The fourth option is to disclose the presence of bioengineered foods or ingredients using a symbol. Two symbols have been developed by the USDA (available in color and black and white), both of which contain the word bioengineered (see below; USDA AMS, a). These symbols will appear on bioengineered foods when the manufacturer chooses this disclosure option.

Foods in packages that are too small to otherwise label will have a modified requirement to "provide alternative reasonable disclosure options." This could include a number or a website where consumers can find information about the presence of bioengineered ingredients in a food.

What Is the Difference between "Bioengineered" and "Derived from Bioengineering"?

Some foods that are not considered bioengineered under the NBFDS may still include the text or symbol "Derived from Bioengineering." As mentioned earlier, if a bioengineered crop is used to produce a food that is processed to the point that there is no longer any bioengineered DNA present, a manufacturer could still voluntarily use the "Derived from Bioengineering" label. However, they are not required to do so.

Where on Food Packages Will the Disclosures Appear?

The NBFDS allows the disclosure to appear in in different locations. It can be part of the information panel directly next to the statement that identifies the name and location of the distributor of the product. This information panel is often directly below the nutrition facts panel. The disclosure can also be placed on the part of the package that consumers will see first when shopping (typically the front of the package). If there is not enough space within the information panel or on the front of the package, the disclosure can be placed on another part of the package likely to be seen by the consumer when shopping.

Are All Bioengineered Foods Being Labeled under the NBFDS?

No. Foods that contain less than 5% of bioengineered materials will not be required to be labeled as bioengineered. Bioengineered additives that are "incidental" do not have to be labeled (Code of Federal Regulations, ). These are additives present in foods in very small amounts and have no technical or functional effects on the food. Bioengineered foods that are sold by small or very small manufacturers, defined as less than $2.5 million in annual sales, are also exempt from the labeling requirement. Finally, bioengineered foods served in restaurants or other venues where prepared foods are served such as cafeterias and airplanes do not have to be labeled or identified in any way.

References

Copyright © Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. All rights reserved.

For more information: njaes.rutgers.edu.

Cooperating Agencies: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Boards of County Commissioners. Rutgers Cooperative Extension, a unit of the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, is an equal opportunity program provider and employer.

Are you interested in learning more about Bulk Qr Code Scanning? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!