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EU committee favors stricter GM labeling rules

(June 5, 2002 – CropChoice news) – The European Parliament’s Environment Committee narrowly approved stricter standards for the labeling of food and feed containing genetically modified organisms.

The particulars of the Committee’s narrow approval vote include:

  • Special labeling in the EU for meat, dairy products and highly refined foods (e.g., soybean oil) that contain transgenic ingredients
  • Mandatory labeling threshold of 0.5 percent biotech content per ingredient
  • Prohibition on the sale of any products containing traces of genetically modified ingredients that the EU has not authorized.

Unsurprisingly, U.S. officials and food producers, as well as some European food makers, warn that such strict requirements amount to a de facto ban on any products labeled as genetically modified.

Before the Committee recommendations become law, however, the full European Parliament will consider them over the summer. Then, they would undergo review in all EU capitals, consideration by the European Commission and finally, a second reading in the EU Parliament. Moderately conservative politicians, who favor less strict labeling rules, currently hold sway there.

Source: The Wall Street Journal Europe