Food industry to pay for political brinkmanship
more paperwork than necessary and will send an army of food
manufacturers to rethink their ingredients formulations. So it is
that critics of the incoming rules on the tracebility of GM
foodstuffs view the move by Brussels to toughen up the labelling
regime.
From 18 April all ingredients that contain or consist of genetically modified organisms, or contain ingredients produced from GMOs, must be labelled and traceable - a system that will lean heavily on traceability. The rules also set up a centralised procedure to consider applications to grow and market GMOs in the European Union.
"We have never supported this law, it's unworkable and impractical," Lynne Insall, the GM expert at the UK's industry body, the Food and Drink Federation, tells FoodNavigator.com.
Declared a victory for consumer choice by Brussels, the new rules are viewed as little less than a nightmare by the European food industry which believes the move to traceability rather than detectability will not only leave the European food chain open to fraud, but be totally impractical to enforce.
"We still don't know how it will be enforced and at what level the 'proof' will be," added Insall, commenting that the European Commission has yet to tie up all the loose ends on the incoming rules.
The food industry has no choice but to implement the rules, although at this stage the actual cost to the €600 billion European industry is unclear.
It is very difficult to assess the cost. The UK implementing regulations were only published last week and at this stage some of the costs are also dependent on commercial issues, said Insall.
While the larger manufacturers involved in multiple food product sectors may have the systems in place to cope with maintaining five years of records on GM derived food products - as the new rules demand - for SME's this may not be the case.
"It depends on the system already in place. Some of the larger firms may be able to 'add on' the requirements to their existing systems. For the small and medium-sized companies this is less likely, and the process will be costly," added Insall.
It is too early in the game to put a figure on the overall costs. But if they do rise, and companies fail to absorb the costs - already pressed by mounting raw material prices - it is probable the costs will be dispersed throughout the food chain - from producer to retailer.
Reformulation is an option underway by the industry today that could lead to a minor shake-up for the ingredients industry. Insall commented that every food manufacturer is today busy scoping their supply chain and checking for GM derivatives. They may opt to reformulate the ingredients in the recipe of a foodstuff rather than sticking with the GM derivative. A move which would send ripples throughout the ingredients industry and could see some suppliers faced with ailing order books.
"For most ingredients there are alternatives," added the FDF spokesperson.
The Commission, not too concerned about the impracticalities of enforcement according to Insall, implemented the new rules - (EC) 1830/2003 on the Traceability and Labelling of GMOs and (EC) 1829/2003 on Genetically Modified (GM) Food and Feed - under the banner of choice for the GM suspicious consumer. But critics maintain that the move was for pure political ends.
Introducing tighter rules on the labelling of GM's could herald an end - as desired by Brussels - to the current GM moratorium on new GM crops in place since 1998. The US - a key exporter of GM crops- has been pushing Europe to end the bloc, viewing the moratorium as an illegal barrier to trade and lost revenues for its GM farmers.
The rules were drafted from a political view without any real understanding of the industry, said Insall.
"We have always recognised and respected the fact that a proportion of the population does not accept GM. We were prepared to accept a system of detectability that can be enforced- label the DNA or protein where detectable," Insall said.
Efforts are underway to help food and beverage manufacturers get to grips with the new rules. At a European level, the Confederation of the food and drink industries of the EU will issue in the next two weeks a 30 page guideline to be sent out to all members. Nationally, goverment agencies and industry bodies have set up consultations and workshops.
The UK's Food and Drink Federation will hold a workshop for manufacturers on 19 April with speakers including Patrick Deboyser, head of food law and biotechnology at the European Commission, and Dr Clair Baynton, head of novel foods branch 1 at the FSA.
