On April 26, 2011, the California Assembly Health Committee considered a bill which would require that all GE salmon sold in California contain clear and prominent labeling. The bill, AB 88, was introduced by Assemblymember Jared Huffman. The Center for Food Safety (CFS), a co-sponsor of the bill, testified before the Committee.
Officially the bill failed, with four Democrats abstaining from the vote. However, the bill will be up for reconsideration on Monday, May 2nd, and another vote will be taken. Thus it is possible the bill could pass next week.
Public opinion clearly and consistently calls for food labeling. Recent polls indicate that 95% of the public want labeling of genetically-modified foods, and that nearly 50% of the public would not eat seafood that has been genetically engineered. Consumers sent nearly 400,000 public comments to FDA demanding the agency reject this application and require mandatory labeling of this transgenic salmon should it decide to approve it.
CFS is watching the bill closely, and we’ll update the website as soon as voting takes place on Monday.
Read CFS’s testimony presented at the Health Committee hearing
Read AB 88
For more information on GE fish, visit CFS’s campaign websitehttp://www.ge-fish.org
For information on federal bills:
The U.S. Senate: S. 230 (ban) and S. 229 (mandatory label)
The U.S. House: H.R. 521 (ban) and H.R. 520 (mandatory labeling)
