In the Senate of the United States, 

July 7, 2016. 

Resolved, That the Senate agree to the amendment of 

the House of Representatives to the text of the bill (S. 764) 

entitled ‘‘An Act to reauthorize and amend the National Sea 

Grant College Program Act, and for other purposes.’’, do 

pass with the following 

SENATE AMENDMENT TO HOUSE AMENDMENT: 

In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted, insert 

the following: 

1 SECTION 1. NATIONAL BIOENGINEERED FOOD DISCLOSURE 

2 STANDARD. 

3 The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 

4 1621 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘Subtitle E—National Bioengi6 neered Food Disclosure Stand7 ard 

8 ‘‘SEC. 291. DEFINITIONS. 

9 ‘‘In this subtitle: 
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1 ‘‘(1) BIOENGINEERING.—The term ‘bio2 engineering’, and any similar term, as determined by 

3 the Secretary, with respect to a food, refers to a 

4 food— 

5 ‘‘(A) that contains genetic material that has 

6 been modified through in vitro recombinant 

7 deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques; and 

8 ‘‘(B) for which the modification could not 

9 otherwise be obtained through conventional 

10 breeding or found in nature. 

11 ‘‘(2) FOOD.—The term ‘food’ means a food (as 

12 defined in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 

13 Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321)) that is intended for 

14 human consumption. 

15 ‘‘(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

16 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 292. APPLICABILITY. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—This subtitle shall apply to any 

19 claim in a disclosure that a food bears that indicates that 

20 the food is a bioengineered food. 

21 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION OF DEFINITION.—The definition of 

22 the term ‘bioengineering’ under section 291 shall not affect 

23 any other definition, program, rule, or regulation of the 

24 Federal Government. 
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1 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION TO FOODS.—This subtitle shall 

2 apply only to a food subject to— 

3 ‘‘(1) the labeling requirements under the Federal 

4 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.); 

5 or 

6 ‘‘(2) the labeling requirements under the Federal 

7 Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the Poul8 try Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.), 

9 or the Egg Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 1031 

10 et seq.) only if— 

11 ‘‘(A) the most predominant ingredient of the 

12 food would independently be subject to the label13 ing requirements under the Federal Food, Drug, 

14 and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.); or 

15 ‘‘(B)(i) the most predominant ingredient of 

16 the food is broth, stock, water, or a similar solu17 tion; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the second-most predominant ingre19 dient of the food would independently be subject 

20 to the labeling requirements under the Federal 

21 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et 

22 seq.). 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 293. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL BIOENGINEERED 

2 FOOD DISCLOSURE STANDARD. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MANDATORY STANDARD.— 

4 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 

5 subtitle, the Secretary shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) establish a national mandatory bioengi7 neered food disclosure standard with respect to any 

8 bioengineered food and any food that may be bioengi9 neered; and 

10 ‘‘(2) establish such requirements and procedures 

11 as the Secretary determines necessary to carry out the 

12 standard. 

13 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A food may bear a disclosure 

15 that the food is bioengineered only in accordance with 

16 regulations promulgated by the Secretary in accord17 ance with this subtitle. 

18 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A regulation promul19 gated by the Secretary in carrying out this subtitle 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) prohibit a food derived from an ani22 mal to be considered a bioengineered food solely 

23 because the animal consumed feed produced 

24 from, containing, or consisting of a bioengi25 neered substance; 
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1 ‘‘(B) determine the amounts of a bioengi2 neered substance that may be present in food, as 

3 appropriate, in order for the food to be a bio4 engineered food; 

5 ‘‘(C) establish a process for requesting and 

6 granting a determination by the Secretary re7 garding other factors and conditions under 

8 which a food is considered a bioengineered food; 

9 ‘‘(D) in accordance with subsection (d), re10 quire that the form of a food disclosure under 

11 this section be a text, symbol, or electronic or 

12 digital link, but excluding Internet website Uni13 form Resource Locators not embedded in the link, 

14 with the disclosure option to be selected by the 

15 food manufacturer; 

16 ‘‘(E) provide alternative reasonable disclo17 sure options for food contained in small or very 

18 small packages; 

19 ‘‘(F) in the case of small food manufactur20 ers, provide— 

21 ‘‘(i) an implementation date that is 

22 not earlier than 1 year after the implemen23 tation date for regulations promulgated in 

24 accordance with this section; and 
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1 ‘‘(ii) on-package disclosure options, in 

2 addition to those available under subpara3 graph (D), to be selected by the small food 

4 manufacturer, that consist of— 

5 ‘‘(I) a telephone number accom6 panied by appropriate language to in7 dicate that the phone number provides 

8 access to additional information; and 

9 ‘‘(II) an Internet website main10 tained by the small food manufacturer 

11 in a manner consistent with subsection 

12 (d), as appropriate; and 

13 ‘‘(G) exclude— 

14 ‘‘(i) food served in a restaurant or 

15 similar retail food establishment; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) very small food manufacturers. 

17 ‘‘(3) SAFETY.—For the purpose of regulations 

18 promulgated and food disclosures made pursuant to 

19 paragraph (2), a bioengineered food that has success20 fully completed the pre-market Federal regulatory re21 view process shall not be treated as safer than, or not 

22 as safe as, a non-bioengineered counterpart of the food 

23 solely because the food is bioengineered or produced or 

24 developed with the use of bioengineering. 
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1 ‘‘(c) STUDY OF ELECTRONIC OR DIGITAL LINK DIS2 CLOSURE.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

4 the date of enactment of this subtitle, the Secretary 

5 shall conduct a study to identify potential techno6 logical challenges that may impact whether consumers 

7 would have access to the bioengineering disclosure 

8 through electronic or digital disclosure methods. 

9 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC COMMENTS.—In conducting the 

10 study under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall solicit 

11 and consider comments from the public. 

12 ‘‘(3) FACTORS.—The study conducted under 

13 paragraph (1) shall consider whether consumer access 

14 to the bioengineering disclosure through electronic or 

15 digital disclosure methods under this subtitle would be 

16 affected by the following factors: 

17 ‘‘(A) The availability of wireless Internet or 

18 cellular networks. 

19 ‘‘(B) The availability of landline telephones 

20 in stores. 

21 ‘‘(C) Challenges facing small retailers and 

22 rural retailers. 

23 ‘‘(D) The efforts that retailers and other en24 tities have taken to address potential technology 

25 and infrastructure challenges. 
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1 ‘‘(E) The costs and benefits of installing in 

2 retail stores electronic or digital link scanners or 

3 other evolving technology that provide bio4 engineering disclosure information. 

5 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURE OPTIONS.—If the 

6 Secretary determines in the study conducted under 

7 paragraph (1) that consumers, while shopping, would 

8 not have sufficient access to the bioengineering disclo9 sure through electronic or digital disclosure methods, 

10 the Secretary, after consultation with food retailers 

11 and manufacturers, shall provide additional and 

12 comparable options to access the bioengineering dis13 closure. 

14 ‘‘(d) DISCLOSURE.—In promulgating regulations 

15 under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that— 

16 ‘‘(1) on-package language accompanies— 

17 ‘‘(A) the electronic or digital link disclosure, 

18 indicating that the electronic or digital link will 

19 provide access to an Internet website or other 

20 landing page by stating only ‘Scan here for more 

21 food information’, or equivalent language that 

22 only reflects technological changes; or 

23 ‘‘(B) any telephone number disclosure, indi24 cating that the telephone number will provide ac-
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1 cess to additional information by stating only 

2 ‘Call for more food information.’; 

3 ‘‘(2) the electronic or digital link will provide ac4 cess to the bioengineering disclosure located, in a con5 sistent and conspicuous manner, on the first product 

6 information page that appears for the product on a 

7 mobile device, Internet website, or other landing page, 

8 which shall exclude marketing and promotional infor9 mation; 

10 ‘‘(3)(A) the electronic or digital link disclosure 

11 may not collect, analyze, or sell any personally iden12 tifiable information about consumers or the devices of 

13 consumers; but 

14 ‘‘(B) if information described in subparagraph 

15 (A) must be collected to carry out the purposes of this 

16 subtitle, that information shall be deleted immediately 

17 and not used for any other purpose; 

18 ‘‘(4) the electronic or digital link disclosure also 

19 includes a telephone number that provides access to 

20 the bioengineering disclosure; and 

21 ‘‘(5) the electronic or digital link disclosure is of 

22 sufficient size to be easily and effectively scanned or 

23 read by a digital device. 

24 ‘‘(e) STATE FOOD LABELING STANDARDS.—Notwith25 standing section 295, no State or political subdivision of 
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1 a State may directly or indirectly establish under any au2 thority or continue in effect as to any food in interstate 

3 commerce any requirement relating to the labeling or disclo4 sure of whether a food is bioengineered or was developed 

5 or produced using bioengineering for a food that is the sub6 ject of the national bioengineered food disclosure standard 

7 under this section that is not identical to the mandatory 

8 disclosure requirement under that standard. 

9 ‘‘(f) CONSISTENCY WITH CERTAIN LAWS.—The Sec10 retary shall consider establishing consistency between— 

11 ‘‘(1) the national bioengineered food disclosure 

12 standard established under this section; and 

13 ‘‘(2) the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 

14 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) and any rules or regulations 

15 implementing that Act. 

16 ‘‘(g) ENFORCEMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITED ACT.—It shall be a prohibited 

18 act for a person to knowingly fail to make a disclo19 sure as required under this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) RECORDKEEPING.—Each person subject to 

21 the mandatory disclosure requirement under this sec22 tion shall maintain, and make available to the Sec23 retary, on request, such records as the Secretary deter24 mines to be customary or reasonable in the food in-
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1 dustry, by regulation, to establish compliance with 

2 this section. 

3 ‘‘(3) EXAMINATION AND AUDIT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

5 conduct an examination, audit, or similar activ6 ity with respect to any records required under 

7 paragraph (2). 

8 ‘‘(B) NOTICE AND HEARING.—A person sub9 ject to an examination, audit, or similar activity 

10 under subparagraph (A) shall be provided notice 

11 and opportunity for a hearing on the results of 

12 any examination, audit, or similar activity. 

13 ‘‘(C) AUDIT RESULTS.—After the notice and 

14 opportunity for a hearing under subparagraph 

15 (B), the Secretary shall make public the sum16 mary of any examination, audit, or similar ac17 tivity under subparagraph (A). 

18 ‘‘(4) RECALL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall 

19 have no authority to recall any food subject to this 

20 subtitle on the basis of whether the food bears a disclo21 sure that the food is bioengineered. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 294. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 

23 ‘‘(a) TRADE.—This subtitle shall be applied in a man24 ner consistent with United States obligations under inter25 national agreements. 
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1 ‘‘(b) OTHER AUTHORITIES.—Nothing in this sub2 title— 

3 ‘‘(1) affects the authority of the Secretary of 

4 Health and Human Services or creates any rights or 

5 obligations for any person under the Federal Food, 

6 Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.); or 

7 ‘‘(2) affects the authority of the Secretary of the 

8 Treasury or creates any rights or obligations for any 

9 person under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act 

10 (27 U.S.C. 201 et seq.). 

11 ‘‘(c) OTHER.—A food may not be considered to be ‘not 

12 bioengineered’, ‘non-GMO’, or any other similar claim de13 scribing the absence of bioengineering in the food solely be14 cause the food is not required to bear a disclosure that the 

15 food is bioengineered under this subtitle. 

16 ‘‘Subtitle F—Labeling of Certain 

17 Food 

18 ‘‘SEC. 295. FEDERAL PREEMPTION. 

19 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF FOOD.—In this subtitle, the term 

20 ‘food’ has the meaning given the term in section 201 of the 

21 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321). 

22 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL PREEMPTION.—No State or a political 

23 subdivision of a State may directly or indirectly establish 

24 under any authority or continue in effect as to any food 

25 or seed in interstate commerce any requirement relating to 
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1 the labeling of whether a food (including food served in a 

2 restaurant or similar establishment) or seed is genetically 

3 engineered (which shall include such other similar terms as 

4 determined by the Secretary of Agriculture) or was devel5 oped or produced using genetic engineering, including any 

6 requirement for claims that a food or seed is or contains 

7 an ingredient that was developed or produced using genetic 

8 engineering. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 296. EXCLUSION FROM FEDERAL PREEMPTION. 

10 ‘‘Nothing in this subtitle, subtitle E, or any regulation, 

11 rule, or requirement promulgated in accordance with this 

12 subtitle or subtitle E shall be construed to preempt any rem13 edy created by a State or Federal statutory or common law 

14 right.’’. 

15 SEC. 2. ORGANICALLY PRODUCED FOOD. 

16 In the case of a food certified under the national or17 ganic program established under the Organic Foods Pro18 duction Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.), the certification 

19 shall be considered sufficient to make a claim regarding the 

20 absence of bioengineering in the food, such as ‘‘not bioengi21 neered’’, ‘‘non-GMO’’, or another similar claim. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 764 

SENATE AMENDMENT TO 

HOUSE AMENDMENT