Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Mar 12, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Mar 12, 2002 |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Bio-tech & Genetics Codex drafts GM food principles Our Bureau
MUMBAI, March 11 A TASK force of the Codex Alimentarius Commission has reached agreement on a final draft of `Principles for the risk analysis of foods derived from biotechnology', the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have announced. The principles will provide a framework for evaluating the safety and nutrition aspects of genetically-modified (GM) foods. They define the need for a pre-market safety assessment of all such foods on a case-by-case basis. According to the UN agencies, the assessment should look into both intended and unintended effects, identifying new or altered hazards and identifying changes, relevant to human health, especially in regard to key nutrients and potential allergenic components. Post-market monitoring would be one of the management options described in the principles. Guidance related to analytical methods and other tools to be used in risk management is also provided. The task force reached an important agreement concerning the tracing of GM products for the purpose of facilitating withdrawal from the market when a risk to human health has been identified. In addition, detailed requirements for assessing the safety of GM plants including tests for allergenicity have been adopted. The agreement is likely to mark a break-through in international negotiations concerning the use of tracing systems in relation to food in international trade. The world market for food products, especially for soyabean, corn (maize) and cotton, seems to be getting increasingly polarised with some countries either insisting on non-GM products or suggesting strict inspection norms.
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