|
q EU regulations require all the 25 EU countries to label GM food
q EU regulations do not require by-products (meat, milk, eggs) from livestock fed GM feed to be labelled
q The US and Canada do not require GM foods to be labelled
q ICELAND does not yet require labelling of GM foods
Countries That Require Labelling of GM Food
All the 25 member states of the European Union, plus
Norway , Switzerland, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil require GM food to be labelled. The EU-countries, Switzerland and Norway have probably the strictest labelling laws in the world for GM foods. However, there is pressure from consumers in those countries to tighten regulations yet further. In particular they seek to require the labelling of animal by-products (meat, milk, eggs) which come from animals that have been fed GM feed. (See also LAW AND REGULATION, European Union Legislation.)
The EU Regulation For Labelling GM Food
Countries Without Mandatory Labelling of GM Food
America, Canada and ICELAND are among those countries where the authorities do not require GM foods to be labelled. The American and Canadian biotech industry have invested heavily in GM agriculture and have lobbied their governments to ensure that the labelling of GM foods is not required. Biotech companies insist, contrary to a growing body of scientific evidence, that GM food is no different than conventional food and therefore does not need to be labelled.
Despite calls from the Consumers´ Association and others to do so, Icelandic authorities never implemented EU regulation on novel foods and have declined to adopt the latest EU regulation on GM-labelling (no. 1830/2003), justifying this by the fact that the EEA Joint Committee has not yet made a decision on it.
Because GM food in Iceland, America and Canada is unlabelled, consumers in those countries are unable to exercise their right to freedom of choice when buying food. However, the general public is increasingly aware of the uncertainties of eating GM food, and many consumer groups are now campaigning to get GM foods labelled.
|
|
