Europe plans labels to let consumers decide on GM food

By PHILIPPA STEVENSON agriculture editor

The European Union is paving the way for food produced from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to take a greater place on the shop shelves of its 15 member states.

The New Zealand debate on genetic engineering technology's future for this country includes a weather eye on reaction from Europe as a big export market.

But European leaders are well aware that GMOs are already in the food chain and are moving to match their law with the reality.

Imported products derived from GMOs, the feeding of stock on GM feed and EU-wide GM crop field trials have ensured that GMOs are now part and parcel of European food.

The goal now is to ensure consumers have a choice in what they eat through comprehensive labelling of products derived from GMOs, and to be able to trace GMOs through the chain from farm to table.

Last Wednesday, the European Parliament completed its first reading of two European Commission proposals to strengthen labelling and tracing requirements and to regulate GMO food and feed products to be placed on the market.

Existing legislation dates back to 1990 but has had a number of amendments and updates, the latest not due to be adopted by member states until October.

The present GM labelling system is based on detection of genetically modified DNA or protein in the final product but in practice means that highly processed foodstuffs produced from GM material, such as highly refined oils, do no need to be labelled.

The new proposal extends labelling provisions to all GM food or feed, irrespective of the detectability. All food and feed which consist of, contain or are produced from GMOs would have to be labelled as such.

The proposals got broad support in the Parliament, and an amendment which would have required compulsory labelling of meat, milk and eggs from animals fed GM feed was rejected. The commission described the amendment as extreme and said it would be unworkable in practice.

Commissioner David Byrne said comprehensive labelling would allow consumers to decide if they wanted to buy food produced from GMOs.

The proposals struck a good and balanced compromise between differing views, he said.

"I firmly believe that they also provide the right approach to foster public confidence and social acceptance of the application of biotechnology in agri-food production.

"They will also give legal certainty for business operators as well as facilitating trade."

The new regulations are expected to be in force next year and allow the authorisation of GMO commercial releases, which have been on hold since October 1998, to be resumed.

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