McKenna says GM label rules are not being implemented

New EU laws on labelling GM foods have not been implemented in Ireland, according to Green MEP Ms Patricia McKenna, and no sanction exists for companies which are in default.

A significant number of food items likely to contain GM soya or maize had not been labelled to comply with the regulations (known as 1139/98) which should have been implemented by April 10th, she said.

Speaking yesterday at a seminar during the Convergence Festival on sustainable development and food production in Temple Bar, Dublin, Ms McKenna criticised the Government for failing to draft effective legislation, including penalties for companies which do not comply. The regulations are part of a large raft of EU legislation requiring transposition into Irish law.

Although the new regulations were far from satisfactory, "since they do not apply to animal fodder, for example", they would at least let concerned consumers know what products contained GM soya and maize, Ms McKenna said.

She added: "This right is being denied to them because of unacceptable delays in transposing the law. It is a disgrace that our Government has failed to address an issue which should be high up their priority list. The British government transposed the EU regulation on time; why is Ireland lagging behind?" she asked.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland was the competent authority designated by the EU to oversee implementation of the regulations, and was ready for their implementation, its chief executive, Dr Patrick Wall, confirmed. GM testing facilities were also being put in place by the State laboratory service.

There was an EU problem in that sophisticated testing methods to detect and quantify GM levels had not been determined in advance, so there was little point in bringing in the law without being able to enforce it, he said. A suitable test has been identified and pilot tested in Ireland.

"There will be an onus on companies claiming to be GM-free to have a paper trail throughout their supply chain, and to have this validated by laboratory testing," he said.

Without statutory instruments, provided by transposition of the regulations into Irish law, the FSAI could not enforce the legislation, which brought with it significant extra costs for companies and supermarkets claiming to be GM-free, Dr Wall said.

There were already some ways of testing DNA which could be used to trace GMOs and even if they were not as precise as those the EU was working on, the authorities "should not be allowed to hide behind this excuse to postpone drafting legislation", Ms McKenna said.

Already in other parts of Europe producers had labelled their products when lecithin or maize starch was on the ingredient list, and she was aware of some Irish manufacturers doing the same.

An EU survey released last week showed almost a third of Irish people strongly disagreed with the notion that there were no health risks associated with GMOs, Ms McKenna noted. "This shows once more that consumers are greatly concerned about the presence of GMOs in their food. The Government is once again failing to address consumers' fears," she said.

The possibility of creating "a register of illness" thought to be associated with GM food is to be examined by the Government's interdepartmental group on GM issues, which is to report shortly to the Cabinet. According to the Irish Doctors' Environmental Association, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, has undertaken to raise the issue with the group.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has asked a group of scientists to advise on biotechnology and cloning issues. Research Commissioner Mr Philippe Busquin has requested they examine the challenges and opportunities that life sciences raise and how the implications could be communicated to the public.