A Taste of Wellness for Savoury and Snacks
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An agreement has been reached on the first global guidelines requiring countries to test the safety of genetically modified (GM) foods before they come on the market, the Codex Alimentarius Commission said on Friday.
The "in principle" decision was taken by the voluntary code's 165 member states, representing 98 per cent of the world population, at a week-long meeting in Geneva, Reuters reports.
But Codex, a joint body of the U.N. World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO ), failed to agree on GMO labelling due to deep divisions, officials said.
It did approve a series of new maximum levels of environmental contaminants - including lead, cadmium and the carcinogen aflatoxin - found in fruit juices, cereals and milk.
"The Codex Commission agreed in principle that the safety of food derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) should be tested and approved by governments prior to entering the market," a final statement said.
"In particular, GMO foods should be tested for their potential to cause allergic reactions," it added.
The consensus decision, which comes amid European resistance to GM crops because of public concerns over their impact on health and the environment, is expected to lead to tighter U.S. safety procedures to protect export market share.
Gro Harlem Brundtland, WHO director-general and a medical doctor, said in a statement: "This is the first global step toward the safety assessment of genetically modified foods."
Alan Randell, secretary of the Codex, expressed satisfaction with the GM decision at a news conference: "To get this over the hump at the first go is really quite an achievement - and it was done in only two years. So it is very good progress."
A task force should have the detailed GM testing guidelines ready in 2003 for the next major Codex talks, officials said.
"It is clear that the task force in Codex working with this will finish its work in 2003...It will be up to countries to implement the guidelines in their legislation," said Dr. Jorgen Schlundt, WHO food safety coordinator.
The principle of "substantial equivalence" - comparing a genetically modified product to a non-GM equivalent - is to be a "starting point" for safety assessment, according to Schlundt.
Asked about products already on the market, he said they had gone through a safety assessment at the national level.
"So, in fact the foods that are on the market now have gone through a system that is almost the same as what is now being considered as internationally agreed standards," Schlundt said