Deals with labelling of all foods containing GM products
Topic: Food
New law:
The Genetically Modified and Novel Food (Labelling) (England) Regulations 2000, consolidated regulations enforcing all current EC Regulations on GM food labelling. Background: Following hard on the heels of EU and UK regulations requiring labelling of foods containing GM soya and maize, further EU Regulations dealt with labelling of other foods containing GM products. In the UK it was considered best to introduce consolidated Regulations incorporating both sets of rules.
What has changed:
The Consolidated Regulations require food manufacturers and processors to keep levels of "adventitous" food contamination by GM as low as possible and set a 1% (applicable only to non-GM produce) threshold above which GM needs to be mentioned on the label. These extend to all foods and food ingredients containing GM additives and flavourings. They also require those supplying food to mass caterers such as hospitals, schools and restaurants to mark supplies appropriately. It is worth remembering also that there is detectable GM contamination between 0% and 1%, marking a product "GM Free" could be caught by the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations (see "Misleading advertising" in FAQ section).
In force since: 10 April 2000
What happens next:
The EC is working on rules for use of "GM-free" in labelling and a "negative list" of highly processed food ingredients which contain no hard foods and are therefore not covered by these rules.
