EU Adopts Proposal on Labelling Genetically Modified Soya and Maize
Aug 19, 1998
On May 26 the Council of Ministers of the European Union (EU) adopted a regulation
requiring that certain foodstuffs produced from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) be
so labelled. The adoption follows the retrieval by the European Commission of its initial
proposal including the controversial "may contain" clause.
The regulation is directly applicable in all 15 Member States of the EU as of September
1, 1998, although it does not apply to products placed on the market before that date. It
applies to food and food ingredients that are to be delivered to the ultimate customer and
are produced in whole or in part from genetically modified soya beans approved under
Decision 96/281/ EC, or from genetically modified maize approved under Decision 97/98/EC.
However, those food or food ingredients in which neither proteins nor DNA resulting from
genetic modification are present shall be deemed equivalent to their traditional
counterparts and, as such, will not have to be labelled as GMO.
Under the regulation, covered products must have the phrase "produced from
genetically modified maize" or "soya" either in the list of ingredients if
the product has one, or clearly on its label when there is no such list.
The Commission will draw up a "negative" list of processed products for which
GMO labelling will not be required. It will include highly processed food using
genetically modified products where novel protein or DNA has been destroyed by successive
stages of processing. The Commission will also evaluate the possibility of establishing a
de minimis threshold for the presence of DNA or protein resulting from genetic
modifications, a threshold under which compulsory labelling will not be required.
The regulation does not apply to food additives, but it is expected that measures will
be put forward requiring the labelling of food containing additives derived from
genetically modified ingredients.
For further information, please contact Jean Savigny at savigny@khlaw.be or Rachida
Semail at rsemail@khlaw.be