Both Republicans and Dem­ocrats strongly questioned the need for mandatory labeling of food made with genetically modified (GMO) crops last week at a House subcommittee hearing on a bill designed to stop state-by-state labeling efforts.

Instead of helping consumers, the lawmakers, regulators and others said mandatory labeling would mislead and confuse consumers, would create an unfair stigma against foods with genetically-modified ingredients and would likely raise food prices.

In addition, Michael Landa, with the Food and Drug Ad­­ministration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, reiterated the agency’s firm belief that foods made from genetically modified crops, often called GMOs, are safe for...