Mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods will be voted on in November by state legislators in Washington, USA, where a new initiative was recently introduced.

If passed, Initiative 522, or "The People's Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act," would require that agricultural commodities and processed foods containing genetically engineered ingredients must be labeled accordingly.

Legislators will vote in November to either pass the initiative directly into law, take no action (so the labeling proposal will appear on the November ballot for public vote), or arrange for a public vote to be held prior to November. The legislation in Washington comes after a proposal on genetically modified food labeling, Proposition 37, was defeated by California, USA, residents in an October 2012 vote.