{"id":516,"date":"2018-07-15T15:54:26","date_gmt":"2018-07-15T15:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/healthyvendingny.com\/blog\/?p=516"},"modified":"2018-08-06T15:55:11","modified_gmt":"2018-08-06T15:55:11","slug":"new-york-city-new-terminology-snacks-and-beverages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyvendingny.com\/blog\/new-york-city-new-terminology-snacks-and-beverages\/","title":{"rendered":"New York City, Watch Out for New Terminology on Snacks and Beverages"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Healthy<\/a><\/p>\n

When are healthy vending machine snacks and beverages still healthy snacks and beverages? When the term genetically modified organisms on the packaging has been changed to bioengineered.<\/span><\/p>\n

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing a terminology change from \u2018genetically modified organisms\u2019 (GMO) to \u2018bioengineered\u2019 (BE) for certain foods. The <\/span>proposed new rule<\/span><\/a> aims to establish a national standard, the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS), to disclose information about the BE status of snacks and beverages for consumers, and how those foods must be labeled. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bioengineering<\/span><\/a>, as defined by the proposed act, is a food \u201c(A) that contains genetic material that has been modified through in vitro recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques; and (B) for which the modification could not otherwise be obtained through conventional breeding or found in nature.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

What does that mean in plain English? The current term, GMO, will be replaced with BE, and products that meet a predefined set of criteria must follow the newly established rules to comply with the proposed act. Unfortunately, this change will place more of the burden on the consumer to understand the different components of the proposed rule, and how each one impacts labeling. <\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike the USDA organic label, the label for the NBFDS won\u2019t be a single icon that is easily recognized. Instead, companies have the option of using a text declaration on packaging, such as “bioengineered food” or “bioengineered food ingredient,” or in a sentence such as “contains\/may contain a bioengineered food ingredient.” Additionally, companies have a third option of using a digital link or QR code disclosure rather than a label, text or sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Healthy<\/a><\/p>\n

The following are a few important points to know about the new labeling requirements when choosing snacks<\/a> or beverages from the office break room vending machines. <\/span><\/p>\n