Food firm fined over incorrect 'GM free' labelling

Related tags Food Gm

In what must be seen as warning to other food manufacturers, a UK
company was fined this week for incorrectly labelling a product
containing GM ingredients.

In what must be seen as warning to other food manufacturers, a UK company was fined this week for incorrectly labelling a product containing GM ingredients. In one of the first prosecutions of its kind in the UK, East End Foods has been ordered to pay a £4,000 (€6,444) fine and to pay costs of £12,000, reports Ananova.com.

The case followed an investigation by trading standards staff in Warwickshire who visited a supermarket in February last year.

They bought a packet of East End Soya Mince, which was not labelled as containing any GM ingredient. Subsequent tests found it had more than 50 per cent genetically modified material.

Noel Hunter, director of Warwickshire Trading Standards Service, said: "Consumers have a right to know when food products contain genetically modified ingredients so that they can make informed choices about the foods they buy."

Companies in the UK have been warned.