Labelling of GM foods likely to be mandatory

The Department of Health and Family Welfare is moving towards a regime to make the labelling of GM foods mandatory and declaring the threshold level of the genetically engineered ingredient on GM products, its Secretary informed the parliamentary panel on climate, forest, science and technology. The recommendation was made to the ministry by a scientific panel on GM organisms in food that was formed as per the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Act.

The panel also informed that the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) is collecting evidence on the impact of GM food on humans and that ICMR is soon going to provide leads to the Health ministry. DNA was the first to report in June that, in the absence of any regulatory mechanism, FSSAI was working on a labelling regime to monitor and make consumers aware of GM products in market.

“Any product which has 5 per cent or more of the genetically engineered ingredient shall be labelled. This has gone to their panel and to the authority which will take a view on this and we hope to get a decision on the labelling aspect very soon,” secretary of the Department of Health said.