Source: POLITCO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 8/9/18

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb this week tweeted a somewhat vague pledge to weigh in on labeling claims in the organic sector. It is an unusual issue for his agency to tackle, given that USDA oversees the National Organic Program. The Twitter thread appears to be in response to a critical Wall Street Journal op-ed from Henry Miller of the Hoover Institution, in which the former FDA official argued — under the headline "The Organic Industry is Lying to You" — that the agency has been inexcusably lax in allowing the use of non-GMO and pesticide-free claims in the food industry.

"The Food and Drug Administration is supposed to police such deceptive practices, as it sometimes does with ridiculous zeal: Witness the FDA's warning letter sent to a Massachusetts bakery for including 'love' in its ingredient list," Miller wrote. "But when it comes to the $47-billion-a-year organic industry, the FDA gives a complete pass to blatantly false and deceptive advertising claims."

The labeling conundrum: Miller pointed to Whole Foods' website as an example, noting that the high-end grocer makes claims about organic foods not using "toxic or persistent pesticides," while many pesticides are allowed in organic production. Another example: Allowing non-GMO labels on orange juice, canned tomatoes and other products that don't have GMO counterparts. (Hello non-GMO salt!)

Gottlieb says more to come: The commissioner took to Twitter to defend the agency's approach, suggesting FDA plans to do more to help consumers make sense of food labels. "In coming weeks I'm going to put out more detailed information on what different terms mean on food packaging, to help consumers best use claims like organic, antibiotic free, etc," Gottlieb wrote in a four-tweet thread . He noted that USDA has jurisdiction over the term organic, but FDA oversees "general food labeling compliance and safety issues." USDA and FDA have been in competition over which entity will take the lead in handling regulation of cell-cultured meat products.