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Ministry issues Gazette Notification making GM on packaged food mandatory
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Thursday, 03 January, 2013, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Akshay Kalbag, Mumbai
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fiogf49gjkf0d With effect from January 1, 2013, it has become mandatory to indicate on the principal display panel of all food packages containing genetically-modified (GM) ingredients by stating GM, but the food processing industry is seeking a clarification about the same.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India, issued a Gazette Notification to this effect, adding that food producers would also have to disclose the ingredient(s), if any.
Confirming this to FnB News, B N Dixit, director, legal metrology, Department of Consumer Affairs, said, “The notification, under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) (2{+n} {+d} Amendment) Rules, 2012, makes labelling mandatory.”
“That is basically done to inform the consumer that genetically-modified ingredients are present in packaged food products,” he added. The packaged commodity rules are currently applicable to nineteen products, including biscuits, bread, cereals and pulses.
The country's processed food industry wants the regulation withdrawn by the government till FSSAI frames rules to implement the labelling rule. However, no such rule has been announced yet.
The background
In India, the regulation of GM crops remains a subject of debate, and so far the country hasn't allowed the cultivation of any, barring Bt cotton. It is now upto the FSSAI, under the Ministry of Health, to look into the implementation of labelling.
According to Dixit, it will help consumers make informed choices, as urban markets across India are flooded with imported GM foods, the processing of which takes place in the United States, Canada and South America.
Maharashtra sets up committee
The Maharashtra government has set up a committee headed by nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar. It comprises Umakant Dangat, agriculture commissioner (who will be its member secretary), and the vice-chancellors and research directors of the four state agricultural universities.
Diliprao Deshmukh, vice-president, Maharashtra Organic Farmers' Federation (MOFF), said, “Without the nod of the ten-member panel, no company can even conduct a field trial of a GM crop developed by it.”
In addition to obtaining the Centre's approval for a field trial, now companies will have to approach the state government for a no-objection certificate (NOC) to do so. In fact, a number of states have imposed a blanket ban on field trials.
Environmentalists' version
There is a lack of clarity in the notification as far as implementation is concerned, but the government's intention (to label GM products) itself isn't bad. They stated that at this point, consumer safety and consumer choice are not a guarantee.
“We and the Consumer Coordination Council (CCC) would not only like the government to make the GM labelling rules more stringent, but also to clarify the threshold limits and the traceability aspects,” a sustainable agriculture campaigner with GreenPeace said.
CCC, the apex body of consumer organisations in India, represents about 75 outfits and urged K V Thomas, minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, government of India, to make the role of the monitoring and regulatory authorities clear.
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