CHINA: GM labelling laws not strict enough, says academy

Proposed plans for the mandatory labelling of GM foods do not go far enough, according to the Academy of Medicine . In a submission to the Environment and Food Bureau, the academy argued that the limit on labelling for GM content should be reduced to 1% from 5%. The academy admitted that it would be technically impossible to label all food items accurately as to GM content. It argued however that while the regulations may initially exclude pre-packaged or processed food, they should aim to cover all food products on the market within one or two years after the laws were passed.

June 1, 2001

Proposed plans for the mandatory labelling of GM foods do not go far enough, according to the Academy of Medicine. In a submission to the Environment and Food Bureau, the academy argued that the limit on labelling for GM content should be reduced to 1% from 5%.

The academy admitted that it would be technically impossible to label all food items accurately as to GM content. It argued however that while the regulations may initially exclude pre-packaged or processed food, they should aim to cover all food products on the market within one or two years after the laws were passed.

Academy president Dr Leong Che-hung maintained that the laws should “cover everything, all food with a GM element. The public should have the right to know. This should be the principle and we will work out the details later.”

The government had set a period of three months for public consultation on GM labelling, and this period ended yesterday. It could well take several more months, according to the bureau, to complete a full analysis of all the views submitted.