A week after passing the Senate, a bill requiring a national standard for labeling genetically modified organisms in food was approved by the House on Thursday. The bill must now be approved by President Obama. If signed (the White House has said it plans to support the legislation), the law would give the U.S. Department of Agriculture two years to create standards for labeling GMOs in food nationwide, and would preempt Vermont's new GMO labeling law, the country's first, which went into effect July 1. Some companies, including Mars, already are using Vermont's labeling standards on products nationwide. Dannon is currently using stickers declaring the presence of GMO ingredients in Vermont, and recently committed to labeling its products nationwide by the end of the year and reducing use of GMO ingredients. Yet other companies say disclosures required by the Vermont law — such as “partially produced with genetic engineering,” or “may be produced with genetic engineering” or “produced with genetic engineering” — create unnecessary fear of a safe technology for producing food. 
 
 The Vermont standard. Venessa Wong / BuzzFeed News 
 
 While the federal bill would make GMO labeling mandatory, it has been criticized by many labeling advocates for not requiring the kind of direct and transparent disclosure required in Vermont. Instead, it was widely supported by food and beverage makers who feared patchwork state-by-state legislation, which would be expensive to deal with. Agribusiness giants like Monsanto and Dow Agrosciences, which develop herbcides and the genetically engineered seeds that can withstand them, also supported the federal bill. 
 
 But some advocates are disappointed that the federal bill permits the use of “a text, symbol, or electronic or digital link” to find out if a product contains GMOs. The link or QR code could include such language as, “Scan here for more food information," and small manufacturers could list a phone number. This means the packaging wouldn't necessarily mention GMOs or genetic engineering at all. The other problem with using digital links, according to Gary Hirshberg, Chairman of the pro-labeling group Just Label It, is consumers simply will not take the time to scan every product they buy with their smartphones. One of the solutions being considered is the Grocery Manufacturers Association's trademarked SmartLabel, a system of websites, digital QR codes, apps, and phone numbers on packages that direct consumers elsewhere for more information about the product. Hershey, one of the first companies to launch SmartLabel, already uses SmartLabel on its candies — although when we tried to use one of its QR codes today, it didn't quite work. Hershey said the error message was a result of scanning the QR code with a demo app, and while there are no SmartLabel-certified apps at this time, generic QR readers are compatible. 
 
 
 
 Venessa Wong / BuzzFeed News 
 
 Scanning the regular bar code on the bag of Hershey's Kisses using the app opened this page. 
 
 SmartLabel 
 
 A tab in SmartLabel's profile of the Hershey's Kisses product called "Other Information" contained a link to the GMO disclosure, which looks like this (below). Altogether, that's three steps — scan, open tab, click on link — to get to the GMO disclosure itself. ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers wanting to know if their foods contain genetically modified ingredients will be able to find out for the first time. 
 
 Congress sent legislation to President Barack Obama on Thursday that would require most food packages to carry a text label, a symbol or an electronic code readable by smartphone that indicates whether the food contains genetically modified ingredients, or GMOs. The Agriculture Department would have two years to write the rules. 
 
 The White House says Obama will sign the bill, which would pre-empt a Vermont law that kicked in earlier this month. The House passed the legislation 306-117 on Thursday. 
 
 Senate approval came last week over the strong objections of Vermont's congressional delegation. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Patrick Leahy and Rep. Peter Welch argued that the measure falls short, especially compared with the tougher labeling requirements in their state. While the bill gives companies the three options for labeling, the Vermont law would require items be labeled "produced with genetic engineering." 
 
 "If there is an acknowledgement about the right of a consumer to have access to information, why not give them the information in plain and simple English?" asked Welch on the House floor. 
 
 Advocates for labeling and the food industry, which has fought mandatory labeling, have wanted to find a national solution to avoid a state-by-state patchwork of laws. The food industry supports the legislation, which was the result of bipartisan Senate negotiations. But many advocates do not, arguing that many consumers won't be able to read electronic labels and that there aren't enough penalties for companies that don't comply. 
 
 While there is little scientific concern about the safety of those GMOs on the market, advocates for labeling argue that not enough is known about their risks and people want to know what's in their food. Among supporters of labeling are many organic companies that are barred by law from using modified ingredients in their foods. 
 
 The food industry says GMOs are safe and the labels could mislead people into thinking they aren't. But several companies started to label their foods anyway as Vermont's law went into effect. 
 
 Vermont's Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin bemoaned the congressional action. 
 
 "It's a shame that Congress chose to replace our standard with a weaker one that provides multiple ways for the food industry to avoid transparent labeling," he said in a statement. 
 
 Republicans and lawmakers from rural states overwhelmingly supported the legislation. Agriculture groups have backed it, hoping it will bring more certainty to farmers who grow genetically modified corn and soybeans. 
 
 "The clock has run out, my producers need certainty and an interstate commerce nightmare will shortly ensure if we don't pass this bill," said Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill. 
 
 Genetically modified foods are plants or animals that have had genes copied from other plants or animals inserted into their DNA. While farmers have been selectively breeding plants for centuries, this manipulation is done in a lab, speeding up the process by transferring a gene from one plant or animal to another. The engineering is done to create certain traits, like resistance to herbicides. 
 
 The bulk of the nation's genetically engineered crops are corn and soybeans that are eaten by livestock or made into popular processed food ingredients such as cornstarch, soybean oil or high-fructose corn syrup. Only a handful of genetically engineered fruits and vegetables are available in the produce aisle, including Hawaiian papaya, some zucchini and squash and some sweet corn. 
 
 The food industry says 75 percent to 80 percent of foods contain genetically modified ingredients — most of those corn and soy-based. The Food and Drug Administration says they are safe to eat. 
 
 The legislation encompasses some foods that were exempted from the Vermont law, but it also allows the Agriculture Department to determine how much of a "bioengineered substance" must be present to require a GMO label. Labeling advocates say many foods wouldn't be labeled if the department sets a high threshold. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writer Matthew Daly in Washington and David Gram in Vermont contributed to this report. ||||| Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, speaks alongside Gov. Peter Shumlin, center, and Sen. Patrick Leahy at a rally Friday, July 1, 2016 in Montpelier, Vt., held to commemorate the implementation of the nation’s first state law to require the labeling of foods made with genetically modified ingredients. (Wilson Ring/Associated Press) 
 
 MONTPELIER, Vt. — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders joined other Vermont leaders Friday to celebrate the state’s newly implemented law requiring labels on genetically modified food and blast proposed federal legislation that could pre-empt the state requirement. 
 
 Vermont became the first state Friday to require the labeling of food containing GMOs, or genetically modified organisms. 
 
 “Vermont had the courage to say ... ‘If it’s the right thing to do, what are we waiting for,’” Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin said to cheers from a rally audience of about 150 people on the Statehouse steps. 
 
 Vermont Sen. Sanders sharply criticized the compromise bill in Congress that called for less stringent regulations, and said the bill has several shortcomings. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill next week. 
 
 The federal legislation would allow an electronic code on a package to stand in for a label, requiring a smartphone and internet connection for a consumer to know whether the product contained genetically modified ingredients, Sanders said. Many products, including corn products, beet sugar and soy oils that are in many processed foods, could be exempt from the requirement, he added. 
 
 “Perhaps most shockingly and what exposes the partial nature of this legislation, this bill imposes no penalties whatsoever for violating the labeling requirement, making the legislation essentially meaningless,” Sanders said. 
 
 Vermont’s law imposes a penalty of $1,000 per day per genetically modified product that is not labeled as required. 
 
 At the Hunger Mountain Co-op in Montpelier, which specializes in natural foods and local products, general manager Kari Bradley said it was frustrating that a state law the cooperative has supported since its inception in the legislature might be erased from the books by federal action. 
 
 He said food co-ops elsewhere in the country cheered them on but their states didn’t have the political climate to pass a labeling law. The federal bill is “not a solution that’s in the spirit of the Vermont law,” he said. 
 
 Food producers argue the science doesn’t find significant difference between foods that are genetically modified and those that are not. But they also say they don’t want to end up with a patchwork of multiple state regulatory schemes. 
 
 Industry groups including the Grocery Manufacturers Association have sued to block the Vermont law, arguing that the labeling requirement amounts to compelled speech in violation of the First Amendment. The litigation is pending in federal court. 
 
 Meanwhile, food companies and retailers said they have taken steps to be in compliance as of July 1, the start date of the state law that passed in 2014. 
 
 At Mehuron’s Supermarket in Waitsfield, manager Bruce Hyde Jr. said he and his team were ready while noting that stores like his have to rely on national food companies to apply labels to products with genetically modified ingredients. 
 
 Campbell Soup Co. has printed and shipped product labeled to comply with Vermont’s law, company spokesman Thomas Hushen said, and the company remains “committed to label on-package” throughout the country. 
 
 Coca-Cola spokesman Ben Sheidler said the company was making a “good-faith effort” to comply with the law but some lower-volume products and packages “could be temporarily unavailable in Vermont.” 
 
 Eric Blom, a spokesman for Maine-based regional chain Hannaford Supermarkets, said the chain has new labels for any store-brand products it carries that contain genetically modified ingredients and those labels will be going to Vermont and throughout Hannaford’s distribution system. 
 
 Grocery Manufacturers Association spokesman Roger Lowe said the group hopes Congress acts quickly on the legislation. He said, “Since the state of Vermont has given companies 30 days to correct any alleged GMO labeling violations, the immediate impact, if any, on companies in July should be limited.” 
 
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– A bill requiring food packages to carry information on genetically modified ingredients has passed Congress—and NPR reports that neither side of the debate is thrilled about it. Farm groups and food industry lobbyists are opposed to any kind of mandatory labeling, while those calling for GMO labels complain that the bill allows food companies to provide a QR code or even just a phone number consumers can call instead of stating on the packaging whether the product contains GMO ingredients. The bill, which President Obama is expected to sign into law, was approved by the Senate last week and sailed through the House 306-117 on Thursday, the AP reports. The compromise bill on GMO labeling was blasted as a "sham" by some pro-labeling groups and supported by food companies that wanted a national standard—preferably a loose one—instead of state-by-state regulations, BuzzFeed reports. Vermont brought in its own, more stringent law on GMO labeling at the start of this month, and state lawmakers, including Bernie Sanders, argued against the federal bill. "It's a shame that Congress chose to replace our standard with a weaker one that provides multiple ways for the food industry to avoid transparent labeling," Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin said in a statement. (Last year, the FDA approved a genetically engineered animal for human consumption.)