PROP
37
GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS.
LABELING. INITIATIVE STATUTE.
OFFICIAL TITLE AND SUMMARY
PREPARED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS. LABELING. INITIATIVE STATUTE.
- Requires labeling on raw or processed food offered for sale to consumers if made from plants or animals with genetic material changed in specified ways.
- Prohibits labeling or advertising such food, or other processed food, as “natural.”
- Exempts foods that are: certified organic; unintentionally produced with genetically engineered material; made from animals fed or injected with genetically engineered material but not genetically engineered themselves; processed with or containing only small amounts of genetically engineered ingredients; administered for treatment of medical conditions; sold for immediate consumption such as in a restaurant; or alcoholic beverages.
Summary of Legislative Analyst’s Estimate of Net State and Local Government Fiscal Impact:
- Increased annual state costs ranging from a few hundred thousand dollars to over $1 million to regulate the labeling of genetically engineered foods.
- Potential, but likely not significant, costs to state and local governments due to litigation resulting from possible violations of the requirements of this measure. Some of these costs would be supported by court filing fees that the parties involved in each legal case would be required to pay under existing law.