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To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1705)	3/18/1999 5:12:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

BBC: No test for GM food Thursday, March 18, 1999 Published at 12:28 GMT By BBC News Online Science Editor Dr David Whitehouse Food retailers will not be able to rely on tests alone to ensure that their food contains no genetically-modified (GM) ingredients. They will have to know exactly where the foods ingredients came from. This is because in some cases there is no certain way of telling whether processed food once included ingredients that had been genetically-modified. If the raw, unprocessed crop is available, or if the food has been only lightly processed, then it is relatively easy to tell a GM plant or ingredient from a normal one. This is done with a standard DNA test called the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that looks for and copies specific pieces of DNA. But when foodstuffs are processed the DNA they contain becomes degraded. Also substances that interfere with the PCR reaction can be introduced during processing and cooking. The Laboratory of the Government Chemist, an independent UK body says that extracting DNA from highly processed food in a form suitable for reliable PCR testing can be "challenging and unpredictable". Last year LGC scientists warned food manufacturers and retailers that they would be misleading customers if they claimed that their highly processed products were 100% free of GM ingredients based on tests alone. The lack of a reliable test means that the only foolproof way to ensure that a food is GM free is to find out exactly what it is made from. This will require finding the source of its basic ingredients and ensuring that they are GM free. If the food is made from soya or maize imported from the United States this may be impossible as GM altered soya and maize are mixed with unaltered crops. As part of the requirement that GM foods are labelled the UK government has issued a list of suppliers of certified GM free foodstuffs. news.bbc.co.uk

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1705)	3/18/1999 5:19:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

UK Politics - Fines back up GM labelling rules Thursday, March 18, 1999 Published at 13:18 GMT Restaurants will be fined if they do not label GM food The UK Government is claiming to lead the way in Europe by bringing in tough new regulations to force all food-sellers to tell customers if items contain genetically-modified ingredients. Local authorities are being given powers to enforce a European Union directive requiring labelling of all products containing GM soya or maize. These will be backed up by £5,000 fines for those who fail to provide full information to consumers. In a written parliamentary answer, Food Safety Minister Jeff Rooker said: "The government is determined that consumers should be able to choose whether or not to eat genetically-modified foods. "This includes foods sold in restaurants, cafes and takeaways and not just that available in supermarkets. "The UK is the first member state in Europe to take steps to ensure that consumers eating out will have the same right to choose whether or not to consume foods containing GM ingredients as those buying from shops." But speaking earlier, Mr Rooker insisted no risk existed from eating the GM products already available in shops and restaurants. "With respect to genetic modification, there is no health or scientific evidence that has been put to peer group testing by other scientists, that give us any doubt about the safety of those foods that are currently regulated on the market." The minister stressed the law already required food retailers to mark products containing GM ingredients. "We're giving powers to local authorities to enforce the existing law, which requires that genetically-modified soya and maize in products should be labelled." But the inspection process would apply to only end-product ingredients, he said, as derivatives could not be found by testing. Some campaigners feel the regulations do not go far enough. Friends of the Earth said the new laws should include GM-product derivatives, such as lecithin, a soya by-product. A spokesman for the group said: "If these ingredients are excluded from the labelling laws it will mean consumers will still be eating unlabelled food containing GM ingredients, depriving them of an informed choice." Several major supermarket chains, including Sainsbury's and Marks and Spencer, are removing all GM ingredients from own-brand ranges. In evidence last night to the Commons science and technology committee, Professor Janet Bainbridge, chairman of the government's advisory committee on novel foods and processes, said GM foods must be better labelled. She urged a "major public awareness campaign to allow informed choice". But she added: "I have confidence in the technology and the rigour of the regulatory process. "Imposition of a ban on the cultivation or sale of GM foods would achieve nothing except jeopardise the competitiveness of UK industry. "Despite emotive media coverage, there has never been any recorded ill effect to human health resulting from consumption of GM foods." But Tory agriculture spokesman Tim Yeo said people buying food had to understand the information given to them. "What we need is labelling regulations which give consumer clear, simple and accurate information about whether any food they buy in the shop contains any GM ingredients and if it is, in what proportion. "Without that information any new regulations about labelling won't be worth very much." news.bbc.co.uk