Food Labeling Followup

The following is Gluten-free, fat-free, non toxic, and GMO-free.

The FDA’s 2015 guidance made clear that some labeling actions were violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act: “Another example of a statement in food labeling that may be false or misleading could be the statement ‘None of the ingredients in this food is genetically engineered’ on a food where some of the ingredients are incapable of being produced through genetic engineering (e.g., salt).”
“GMO-free” labels are found on products that have never had “genetically modified” counterparts. They are even on products that could not possibly come from “genetically modified organisms” because they do not come from organisms at all, such as salt and water. They are used to imply health and safety risks which, according to the judgment of more than 280 global health, safety, academic, scientific, and governmental organizations, including our FDA, do not exist.
The agency’s recently updated guidance once again makes it clear that the Non-GMO Project and many other GMO-free labels are “false and misleading” and violate long-standing truth-in-labeling laws.

Whether a food is manufactured to be free of gluten or by nature is free of gluten (e.g., bottled water), it may bear a gluten-free labeling claim if it meets all FDA requirements for a gluten-free food. The claim is voluntary.