An emergency measure adopted by the European Commission will be implemented next week to ensure rice and rice products imported from China do not contain unauthorised genetically modified (GM) rice.
The Food Standards Agency has issued a Food Alert for Action, asking local authorities to liaise with businesses that may sell products containing the GM rice known as ‘Bt63’.
Bt63 is an unauthorised genetically modified organism and should not be sold in the European Union.
From 15 April, the Commission decision will require imports of rice and rice products to be certified as being free of the unauthorised GM rice.
The legislation, entitled ‘The Specified Products from China (Restriction on First Placing on the Market) (England) Regulations 2008’, will be submitted for Ministerial consideration next week.
The legislation also requires that member states take appropriate measures, including random sampling and analysis, of imported products.
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