Report to call GM labelling inadequate

A government report due later today is understood to say labelling provisions for genetically modified (GM) foods are inadequate and do not provide consumers with clear choices when deciding whether to buy such produce.

In response, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, is expected to announce he will be "pressing for full and clear labelling" of such products placed on the market in advance of a radical overhaul of EU regulations on GM crop production due by the year's end.

The report, the Government's first major policy document on gene modification in food production and industry, is understood to underline the need for "strong, effective and precautionary legislation" in response to the rapidly developing nature of biotechnology.

The setting up of a public consultation process in response to concerns about GM foods and its possible effects is a central feature, The Irish Times has confirmed.

The move is prompted by significant opposition to the introduction of GM foods in Ireland, which has mirrored opposition within the EU. But the Department of the Environment, which has responsibility for overseeing any GM crops trials and their commercial introduction to the market, is believed to be prepared to facilitate Irish efforts, particularly within agriculture, to fully exploit biotechnology.

The report, in the form of a consultation paper issued by Mr Dempsey, nonetheless attempts a neutral evaluation of current environmental risk procedures; public concerns about gene technology and possible future direction for EU and Irish legislation on "the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the environment", which mostly applies to GM crops.

Once the public consultation is completed, it is believed, a State policy position on the deliberate release of GMOs will be finalised, probably within months as the European Commission is attempting to overhaul the main directive affecting GM crops, 90/220/EEC, by the end of the year.

While the report attempts to spell out issues for the future of the genetic modification industry objectively, it is understood to underline the need "to significantly strengthen the risk assessment process" by providing for a common EU approach.

In response to public concern about safety, particularly possible adverse effects on humans and the environment, the document is believed to spell out scientific and technical issues that must 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.

Other concerns may relate to effects on the greater environment and other plants of releasing plants modified for herbicide resistance; the use of plants with a gene-conferring ability to produce a natural toxin (which acts as a natural pesticide) originating from bacillus thuringiensis bacterium, and the need to focus on possible allergic and toxicological effects.

The report is expected to recognise some concerns are well founded but conclude others point to a lack of information on existing regulatory processes; the extent of legislation which reaches beyond Environment to the Departments of Health, Agriculture and Public Enterprise and bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency.

Against this background, the Minister is understood to be backing extensive public and industry consultation to facilitate better competitiveness within the biotechnology sector but with emphasis on safety and transparency.