WASHINGTON – The Grocery Manufacturers Association announced earlier this week that it will seek a federal labeling standard for genetically modified foods, Greenwire reports.

The association said it plans to petition the top U.S. food safety regulator to implement oversight changes and push Congress to adopt a single standard that allows producers to label genetically modified (GM) products as “natural.”

The effort is designed to apply a consistent nationwide standard to GM products, preventing states from passing GM labeling laws that the group claims would stigmatize biotech crops like corn and canola.

"We should not be making food safety labeling decisions through a patchwork of state laws," said Louis Finkel, executive vice president of government affairs for the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

Finkel said the group is working with lawmakers on a bill that would allow some food products to be labeled “GMO-free,” a proposal that opponents maintain is unlikely to gain Congressional support.

"Concerned citizens want mandatory labeling of GMOs and don't want natural foods containing GMOs to be labeled as natural," said Ronnie Cummins, director of the Organic Consumers Association. "I doubt seriously that they can get this through."