The European Union has agreed on legislation to end the four year ban on new genetically modified food products being sold in Europe.
The rules update and strengthen the existing process and were described by MEP's as “the toughest GM licensing laws in the world”.
The new directive puts in place a step-by-step approval process to assess the risk to human health and the environment before any GMO or product containing GMOs are authorised for sale, marketing or planting within the EU.
Environmental group Friends of the Earth has campaigned against the introduction of GM foods and crops. Which in some part has seen leading supermarkets in the UK not stocking GM foods on their shelves. And FoE believes that the crucial issue regarding GM foods is labelling.
The new directive says that products containing GM ingredients should be labelled. But the details of how and when they should be labelled comes in draft directives being discussed by environment ministers in Luxembourg.
Environment minister Michael Meacher said the British government had no difficulties with a stronger labelling regime. And that it supported plans for a threshold of 1% of GM products in an item as the point at which GM labelling would be required.
In the US, GM foods have been on sale for a number of years, and in many cases become a staple.
The rules update and strengthen the existing process and were described by MEP's as “the toughest GM licensing laws in the world”.
The new directive puts in place a step-by-step approval process to assess the risk to human health and the environment before any GMO or product containing GMOs are authorised for sale, marketing or planting within the EU.
Environmental group Friends of the Earth has campaigned against the introduction of GM foods and crops. Which in some part has seen leading supermarkets in the UK not stocking GM foods on their shelves. And FoE believes that the crucial issue regarding GM foods is labelling.
The new directive says that products containing GM ingredients should be labelled. But the details of how and when they should be labelled comes in draft directives being discussed by environment ministers in Luxembourg.
Environment minister Michael Meacher said the British government had no difficulties with a stronger labelling regime. And that it supported plans for a threshold of 1% of GM products in an item as the point at which GM labelling would be required.
In the US, GM foods have been on sale for a number of years, and in many cases become a staple.
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