Draft rules for GM Foods: FSSAI draft norms on GM food unacceptable: Activists

What is the News?

Social activists working among farmers have come out against the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) draft regulations on genetically modified (GM) food, terming it “unacceptable”.

Background

FSSAI has released draft regulations for GM foods. The rules will apply to Genetically Modified Organisms(GMOs) or Genetically Engineered Organism (GEOs) or Living Modified Organism (LMOs) intended for direct use as food or for processing.

The regulations will cover food products that may have been made using food ingredients or processing aid derived from GMO, even if GM content is not present in the end-product.

What are the key provisions of the Draft rules for GM Foods?

No one can manufacture or sell any food products or food ingredients derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) without prior approval.

Specify norms that labs will need to adhere to for testing GM foods.

Genetically Modified Organisms or Genetically Engineered Organisms “shall not be used as an ingredient” in infant food products.

Labelling norms for food products that contain 1% or more than one percent of GMO content.

What are the objections to these rules by Activists?

The rules have proposed that all food products having individual genetically engineered ingredients of 1% or more will be labelled as “Contains GMO/Ingredients derived from GMO”. Activists claimed this as silent approval to import GM food instead of prohibiting them.

Source: This post is based on the article ‘FSSAI draft norms on GM food unacceptable: Activists’ published in Economic Times on 31st Dec 2021.