Vol. 502 No. 6
209 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Health and Children the scientific information he has in relation to risks from genetically engineered foods in relation to allergies and antibiotics resistance (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8878/99]
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland's GMO and Novel Foods Sub-Committee advises me on issues relating to the genetic modification of foodstuffs and affords a forum for the exchange of expert scientific opinion and advice on this new technology and its application to food.
Guidelines to ensure the safety of genetically modified foods, including issues relating to allergenicity and antibiotic resistance, have been developed at international level by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) as well as the European Commission. These guidelines for the assessment of the safety and nutritional quality of foods derived from modern biotechnology enable potential risk to public health to be readily established and are used by the GMO and Novel Foods Sub-Committee in its deliberations.
Regulation (EC) No. 258/97 introduced a statutory pre-market approval system for novel foods through the European Community. Foods and food ingredients which have not been used for human consumption to a significant degree within the European Community as of 15 May 1997 fall within the scope of this regulation. The regulation provides that novel foods and novel food ingredients intended for human consumption, including, inter alia, genetically modified food, must undergo a safety assessment on a case-by-case basis and be officially authorised before being place on the European market. These controls provide protection to consumers and I am keeping the matter under continuing review to ensure that this continues to be the case.
