Democrats in both houses have filed labeling bills that will likely face opposition from food producers, according to the Palm Beach Post.
The two bills, HB 351 filed by Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda and SB 416 filed by Sen. Jeremy Ring, would mandate labeling 25 fruits and vegetables that have genetically modified organisms by Jan. 1, 2017.
Squash, rice, wheat, corn, cotton papaya and zucchini are included on the list.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services would have to update the list each year to include genetically modified, commercially grown vegetables. Processed foods that contain GMOs would also have to be labeled.
In addition to the GMO labeling mandate, the bill requires labeling any product that contains recombinant bovine growth hormone, rBGH, used to increase the production of milk from cows.
In 1993, the hormone rBGH was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but has been banned in Europe, Canada and some other countries.
The Florida governmental body would also have to pick a nonprofit organization to approve a sampling and testing procedure and create and disseminate information, like a brochure, regarding requirements of the bill.
The department would also be required to "prominently display" on its website the annually updated list of high-risk fruits and vegetables.
The bill says penalties cannot exceed $5,000 per seed and $1,000 per retail package and each day of a violation is considered a separate violation, the Post reported.
Last year, Rehwinkel Vasilinda said GMO labeling was a priority. Ring filed a companion bill in the Senate, but both bills died in agriculture committees.
