Recent food scares worldwide, mainly triggered by the mad cow and
foot-and-mouth diseases, have led several countries, including all
European Union member states, to strengthen their legislation protecting
consumers.
New laws have been enacted, tougher safety regulations have been
introduced, and a more cautious attitude is being adopted when faced
with new foodstuffs produced by new scientific technology.
One area of ongoing development regards the regulation of the
production and marketing of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). The
EU has the toughest GMO legislation in the world, with the adoption of a
number of directives based on what is known as "the precautionary
principle". In a nutshell, the principle revolves around the
premise that the potential benefits and damages of the latest scientific
development are not yet well-known, so development has to be regulated
thoroughly in the interest of the consumers, and policy-makers and
scientists must do their best to anticipate the impact of such
development.
Concretely, the principle was applied on several levels. Earlier this
year the European Parliament approved strict rules on the marketing and
production of GMOs, while France, Italy, Austria, Denmark and Greece
said they would not plant GMOs until the EU had enacted additional
legislation to ensure reliable tracing and labelling of GMOs through the
food chain, and a regime of environmental liability.
Council Directive 2000/13/EC is the main piece of EU legislation
regarding the labelling of all foodstuffs with the aim of informing and
protecting the consumer, while EC Directive 90/220 states that the
genetically modified foods authorised for marketing in EU countries have
to be labelled as such.
The case for GMO food labelling is based on two arguments: one is for
food safety, the other for consumer choice.
GMO food is not the same as natural food, and scientific evidence
shows that there have been cases of allergies induced by such foods.
Moreover, there is not enough scientific evidence to prove that GM food
is not harmful to humans, and that is reason enough to adopt a
cautionary, regulatory attitude.
The second argument, for consumer choice, goes a step further.
Whether GM food is harmful or not, it should nevertheless be labelled,
because consumers have a right to choose between GM and non-GM food and
because the consumer has a right to information about all the products
purchased and consumed.
Our own parochial scenario is indeed different. It is disturbing to
note, for example, that GMOs in Malta are not only unlabelled, but their
production and marketing is totally unregulated.
Even more disturbing is the very fact that out of 89 companies
contacted for a specific study on the presence of GMOs in Malta -
commissioned by the Environment Ministry and concluded last month, but
never made public - only 45 replied, with one of them stating it could
not confirm the origins of its product.
As The Malta Independent on Sunday revealed, of 12 companies
supplying fruit and vegetables that could be potentially GM, only four
confirmed that their products were GM-free. Importation records also
show that the GM status of 10 out of 36 local companies dealing with
plant seeds is uncertain.
In other words, the GM status of our local foodstuff is uncertain and
information is mostly unavailable.
Consumer protection, together with concern for the environment and
human health, demands that the Maltese government adopts tougher,
specific and up-to-date legislation that addresses these public
concerns. Food labelling legislation is only one of the important and
urgent needs created by GMOs, but it is crucial in guaranteeing the
Maltese consumers' "right to know".
Malta's active drive to join the EU and comply with the Acquis
Communautaire will eventually include all EU directives on GMOs that
protect the consumer. This will also mean that Malta will have to set up
a GMO regulatory infrastructure, which is officially estimated to cost
more than Lm500,000.
We urge the government to start investing immediately in such an
infrastructure and to draft and enact the much-awaited Environment
Protection Law that would regulate GMOs. Whatever the beneficial and
negative impacts of GM foods, consumers should have the right to choose,
and the government should guarantee us that right as soon as possible.