E-mail this article to
yourself or a friend.
Enter address:





home

Labeling news

(Thursday, June 17, 2004 -- CropChoice news) -- Here is news from Canada and the United States regarding labeling of genetically modified foods.

In Canada, the Quebec parliamentary Committee on Agriculture unanimously adopted on June 11 a report recommending that:

  • the Quebec government impose mandatory labelling for GE food. In the case of GE products derived from GE or containing GE, mandatory labelling standards regarding the minimum threshold be harmonized with the one adopted by the European Union (e.g. 0.9%) (page 37 - recommendation 18).
  • the Quebec government support reseach on the impacts on biotechnologies in order to evaluate the advantages and the risks associated with genetic engineering in the areas of human health and the environment (page 39, recommendation 20).
  • the Quebec government put pressure on the Federal government (of Canada) to adopt mandatory labelling of products from GE instead of the voluntary norms (page 38, recommendation 19).
  • the Quebec government put in place an integrated policy regarding food safety (page 40, recommendation 21) .

Meanwhile, south of the U.S. - Canadian border, an on-line Deloitte & Touche USA L.L.P. survey of about 4,000 consumers found that "61% of those surveyed regarded country-of-origin labels on food at retail stores as extremely or somewhat important. Moreover, 80% said they favor such labeling, even if it raises food prices," according to a June 15 Bakingbusiness.com story. "...Though the majority of U.S. corn and soybean crops now come from bioengineered seeds, 67% of those surveyed expressed at least some concern about eating bioengineered foods."

Sources: