Dempsey backs full labelling of genetically-modified food

New labelling and a public consultation process are expected to be the main elements of a Government plan aimed at tackling consumer resistance to genetically-modified foods.

The Government will also back efforts to improve environmental risk assessment of such products, The Irish Times has learned.

In its first policy review on controversial aspects of genetic engineering, due to be published today, the Government is believed to conclude that the labelling of genetically-modified (GM) foods is inadequate from a consumer viewpoint by failing to provide clear choices for the public when deciding whether to buy GM foods or not.

The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, is expected to announce he will be pressing for full and clear labelling of such products in advance of an overhaul of EU regulations on GM crop production due by the end of the year. The EU is also finalising new labelling requirements.

The paper from Mr Dempsey's Department is believed to endorse "strong, effective and precautionary legislation" in response to the growing biotechnology sector.

The report is also expected to confirm that some public concerns are well founded, but that others indicate lack of awareness of existing regulatory processes and the extent of controlling legislation in place.

The plan for public consultation is prompted by significant resistance to GM foods in Ireland, as in much of the EU. There is such consultation in France and Austria where opposition has been pronounced, and the British government is considering the option after the sabotage of numerous GM crop sites in the UK.

But the Department of the Environment, which has responsibility for overseeing GM crops trials and their commercial introduction, is likely to facilitate Irish efforts to fully exploit biotechnology, a sector predicted to be worth up to £300 billion and employing three million people in the EU by 2005. This, however, is on the basis of a declared commitment to safety, transparency and consumers having a final say on GM foods.

After the consultation process, a national policy position largely based on the document to be published will be finalised.

In response to public concerns, the document is believed to spell out scientific and technical issues on gene modification to be fully addressed.

These include the use of antibiotic-resistant genes as "markers" to identify organisms which have been successfully modified, and their possible impact on antibiotics used in human or veterinary medicine.

The debate on genetically-modified foods has intensified since the arrival in the Republic of the US company, Monsanto, the first to test controversial GM crops in the State. The sector had been growing steadily: some 170 national and multinational companies are specialising in biotechnology in the Republic.