Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 June 2004
86 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if, in view of the impossibility of preventing contamination of conventional crops by genetically modified seed in an island the size of Ireland, he will follow the German Parliament’s example by calling for the labelling of genetically modified seeds at detection level. [16985/04]
View answerEU Directive 2001/18/EC obliges member states to develop proposals for a national strategy and best practice to ensure co-existence of GM crops with conventional crops. An interdepartmental-interagency working group has been set up by the Department of Agriculture and Food to develop such proposals.
The EU Commission has recently put forward a proposal for a decision to establish minimum thresholds above which products that contain adventitious or technically unavoidable traces of GM seeds should be labelled. The Commission advises that the threshold levels set should be scientifically sound, operational, such that they can be met by appropriate management practices, as well as enforceable. In line with the Government's positive but precautionary approach towards GMOs, this new proposal will address the issues raised by the Deputy in an effective and pragmatic way.
