In July 2016, Congress enacted P.L. 114-216 (2016 Act), comprehensive legislation to govern the labeling of bioengineered foods. The 2016 Act required the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (the Standard). The Standard regulates labeling of bioengineered foods, a term defined in the 2016 Act. The act does not address or define other terms that some members of the public might associate with bioengineered foods, such as genetically engineered (GE), genetically modified, and genetically modified organism (GMO). The Standard guides the mandatory labeling of foods to indicate the presence of GE ingredients. As such, foods meeting requirements identified in the Standard must bear a bioengineered disclosure. Implementation began on January 1, 2020, and mandatory compliance begins on January 1, 2022. The Standard does not affect how foods derived from biotechnology are regulated for safety and approval for human consumption. The Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotechnology, a policy the White House issued in 1986, continues to govern how federal agencies, including USDA, evaluate and approve products developed using modern biotechnology. More generally, USDA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continue to ensure that foods sold in the United States are safe and properly labeled. USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) developed the Standard within a broader societal context. Before the 2016 Act, some members of the public had demanded mandatory labeling of the presence of GE ingredients in foods, based on the consumer's right to know. Other members of the public had opposed any GE labeling because of the scientific consensus that GE foods are safe to eat and concern that labeling may introduce unwarranted doubts about food safety. Before the 2016 Act, several states had enacted GE labeling laws, creating concerns among industry and consumer groups. In response, Congress debated this and other federal GE labeling legislation. GE labeling programs may be voluntary or mandatory and may indicate the presence or absence of GE ingredients. Several voluntary labeling programs predate the Standard's mandatory labeling requirements. Public and private programs for the voluntary labeling of foods continue to indicate the absence of GE ingredients in foods. These include the Non-GMO Project and the USDA National Organic Program.