Discussion paper on GE labelling released

3.00pm

Consumer Affairs Minister Judith Tizard today released a discussion paper looking at developing a labelling system to show foods which are free of genetic modification (GM).

The Royal Commission on GM recommended a labelling system and feedback on the discussion paper is being sought.

"The Royal Commission had identified an information gap between mandatory labelling requirements and consumer demand for information about food that does not contain genetically modified material and has not been manufactured using a GM process," Ms Tizard said in a statement.

"Good labelling is essential for consumer choice."

Green Party Safe Food Spokesperson Sue Kedgley described the voluntary GE-Free labelling regime proposed in the discussion paper as a copout, and said New Zealand needed a comprehensive and mandatory GE labelling scheme which would label all GE ingredients.

"Have you ever found a product labelled as containing GE in your supermarket yet? That's because there are so many loopholes," Ms Kedgley said in a statement.

"The truth is there are hundreds of products in the supermarket which contain GE ingredients such as additives, colourings, GE oils and starches and so on, which do not have to be declared on a label because of exemptions.

"What New Zealand urgently needs is European Union-style GE labelling, where all GE ingredients have to be labelled with no exemptions," Ms Kedgley said.

Ms Kegley also said the voluntary scheme would never get off the ground because suppliers were expected to run and fund the entire scheme. She said the Government or the GE industry should be meeting all the costs.

"The Government pays for other aspects of our existing GE labelling regime, which currently requires the labelling of foods containing a few GE ingredients. It's time the GE industry started bearing some of the costs rather than imposing them on the taxpayer and other sector groups."

Submissions on the discussion paper close on May 30.

- NZPA