The FDA has declared that genetically modified foods or food ingredients need not be labeled. Why not? The FDA holds that genetically modified foods (GM-foods) are essentially the same as traditional foods  there is substantial equivalence, in the language of food scientists.ood labels also tell you something about the way a food has been processed. If the pasta sauce you buy has been heated (pasteurized) so that it will keep longer, it cannot be labeled fresh, since the label fresh indicates that a food has not been processed.