(AP)—The Grocery Manufacturers Association and other industry groups have challenged a Vermont law that requires the labeling of food made with genetically modified organisms.

The federal lawsuit, filed Thursday in Burlington, had been expected since Gov. Peter Shumlin signed the state's GMO law last month, making Vermont the first in the nation to require the labeling.

The suit wants the law overturned and describes it as "a misguided measure that will set the nation on a path toward a 50-state patchwork of GMO labeling policies."

Maine and Connecticut have GMO labeling laws that haven't yet taken effect. New York is considering a GMO labeling bill.

The federal government has said GMO foods aren't materially different from other food, but critics consider them environmentally suspect and a possible health threat.