Thailand debates GM labelling

The debate over labelling foods for genetically modified organisms (GMO) might help consumers decide if they want to purchase those products, but what should the labels say?, Thai newspaper The Nation reports this week. The answer is far from clear, says Vichai Chokwiwat, secretary-general of the Thai Food and Drug Administration. The FDA is in the process of drafting a labelling policy, which Vichai says is being delayed while the technicalities are worked out. It is proving difficult to even clarify what products can be identified as having GMOs in them, he commented. In Japan only food items that contain more than 5 per cent of GMOs are labelled as such while in European countries those containing one per cent of GM ingredients are labelled. "If we follow Japan, we might be attacked for not protecting consumers adequately while if we follow E.U. countries it might hurt international trade. So to be safe we should follow Codex's result,"​ Vichai stated. Codex, the international food standard organisation, is to meet in early May. It is expected that it will release concrete results on GMOs. Sothi Rachagan, director of Consumers International's Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, commented recently that it was the duty of state agencies to inform consumers which food products contained or "might" contain GMOs and not to guarantee that GM food is safe. He went on to say that no scientific research completely guaranteed that GM food was safe for humans in the long term. "Let the consumers themselves consider whether GM food is safe for them or not,"​he commented. Source: The Nation