Vol. 475 No. 7
48 Mr. Davern asked the Minister for Health the progress, if any, he has made to legislate for the labelling of genetically modified foodstuffs in view of concerns raised in recent times over food scares; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5860/97]
Limerick East): The Deputy may be aware that an EU regulation on novel foods and novel food ingredients was recently adopted by the European Parliament and Council — Regulation (EC) No. 258/97. Genetically modified foods come within the scope of novel foods, as set out in Article 1.2 of the regulation.
Article 8 of the regulation contains provisions relating to the labelling of such novel foodstuffs in certain circumstances. Essentially, there must be specific labelling to inform the consumer of any characteristic or food property e.g. composition, nutritional value, nutritional effects, intended use of the food which renders a novel food or novel food ingredient no longer equivalent to an existing food or food ingredient. There must also be specific labelling to advise the consumer of the presence in the novel food or novel food ingredient of material which is not present in an existing equivalent foodstuff and which may have implications for the health of certain sections of the population; material which is not present in an existing equivalent foodstuff and which gives rise to ethical concerns; or an organism genetically modified by techniques of genetic modification.
The Novel Foods Regulation is due to come into effect in all member states in mid-May of this year. My Department, which has assumed responsibility for the implementation in this country of the regulation, will be participating in discussions at EU level concerning the practicalities of the implementation process.
Finally, I wish to point out to the Deputy that the labelling requirements for novel foodstuffs as prescribed by the above mentioned EU regulation are additional to the general food labelling provisions which are the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Enterprise and Employment.
