Genetically modified foods may get label in Calif.

Advocates collected more than half a million signatures supporting the stronger labeling requirements, and the secretary of state this week certified the measure for the state's November ballot.

If it passes, California would be the first state to require labeling of such a wide range of foods containing genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.

The proposal would require most processed foods by 2014 to bear a label telling shoppers that they contain ingredients derived from plants whose DNA was altered with genes from other plants, animals, viruses or bacteria.

Many backers of similar labeling legislation in more than a dozen states say the intent is to give consumers more information about what they're eating, and foster transparency and trust in the food system. Major agricultural groups and the processed food industry oppose stricter labeling, saying it risks sowing fear and confusion among shoppers.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says genetically modified foods pose no greater health risks than traditional foods, and opponents of labeling rules say they could prompt packaging costs to rise unnecessarily.

If the measure passes, most raw or processed food made from plants or animals with engineered genetic material would need to be labeled, although certified organic foods and alcohol would be exempted. Meat and dairy products also would not require a label even if the animals are fed with genetically engineered grains, which the initiative's opponents say amounts to a loophole.

"Consumers have a fundamental right to know what is in their food and make choices, so I think everyone should be working toward this," said Albert Straus, founder and president of the Straus Family Creamery, an organic dairy in Petaluma. "Our labeling costs do not go through to the consumer."