Archived press release

Gm labelling laws not being properly policed

11 October 2004

Companies failing to obey tougher rules requiring them to label products that contain GM ingredients are unlikely to be caught because local authorities do not have enough money to carry out sufficient monitoring, Friends of the Earth said today. The warning comes the day after penalties come into force in England for companies breaching the GM labelling laws.

Tougher GM labelling regulations were introduced across Europe in April. They require companies to label any food or animal feed containing GM ingredients, or derivatives, such as processed vegetable oils, above a 0.9 per cent threshold (allowed for accidental contamination). Any company in England found in breach of the rules faces a fine up to £5000 or up to three months in prison [1]. But the Government has indicated that only £400 000 will be allocated to enforcement in relation to GM products sold to consumers [2]. And according to Health Food Business magazine, only foods claiming to be GM free are likely to be targeted for testing [3].

The Trading standards Institute has told Friends of the Earth that some cash strapped local authorities may not be able to carry out sufficient monitoring due to other priorities.

Trading Standards Institute Chief Executive Ron Gainsford said:

"We take the monitoring of labelling laws seriously but, different authorities will have different local priorities and the strain on resources becomes more and more demanding as the trading standards remit continues to grow. There will always be a need for a balancing of resources."

Friends of the Earth's GM campaigner, Clare Oxborrow, said:

"These new labelling rules were brought in to help consumers in Europe avoid GM food but people in the UK are being let down because the rules are not being properly policed. The public have said time and time again that they want to avoid GM food. Despite this, the Government has failed to provide local authorities with sufficient funds to carry out proper monitoring. Unless this changes, these rules will be open to abuse."

Public opposition to GM food and crops has always been high in the UK. Last month a survey by Which? magazine showed public opposition to GM food and crops has grown since 2002, with 61% of people saying they are concerned about the use of GM in food production (56 per cent in 2002) and 58% trying to avoid GM ingredients altogether (a 13% increase).

Notes

[1] The Genetically Modified Organisms (Traceability and Labelling) (England) Regulations 2004

[2] Draft Full Regulatory Impact assessment (PDF format)

[3] Health Food Business (June 2004, Vol17 - Issue 8) P24 HFMA Update: "GMO Regulations - the nightmare has started" Extract: "Enforcement. Our information is that UK enforcement authorities are likely to focus initially on products declaring 'GM Free'."

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust