52. The Committee recalled that its last session had agreed that, subject to the advice of the Executive Committee, the Secretariat should initiate the preparation of guidelines to address the labelling issues associated with foods obtained through biotechnology. The Executive Committee had recommended that the Statements of Principle concerning the Role of Science[9] should be closely adhered to and that the recommendations of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Food Safety and Biotechnology[10] should be taken into account.
53. The Secretariat indicated that the recommendations had been presented in the form of an amendment to the General Labelling Standard, following the approach taken for similar issues, and presented the conclusions of the Expert Consultation of particular relevance where labelling was concerned. The Committee noted that the elaboration of the recommendations had already been approved by the CCEXEC and that comments at Step 3 had not yet been requested in view of time constraints.
54. Several delegations indicated that their national policy supported comprehensive labelling of genetically modified foods and expressed the view that the food safety approach reflected in the paper did not address concerns of consumers in such areas as ethics and environmental protection. It was pointed out that the Expert Consultation was essentially focused on food safety rather that food labelling and that the document under consideration should be redrafted in order to encompass all relevant issues. Other delegations expressed their appreciation of the document which was consistent with traditional food labelling approaches and provided a basis for further development of the recommendations.
55. The Delegation of Norway expressed the view that the issues associated with modern biotechnology went beyond information about products characteristics, that the right of consumers to make their choice should be respected even if this meant broadening the basis for labelling requirements, and that reliable labelling was the only means to ensure consumer confidence in this area.
56. Some delegations suggested that a distinction be established according to the presence of genetically modified organisms in the food, and that the definitions, including that for "organism", should be clarified in this respect. Other delegations suggested that the term "modern biotechnology" or "genetically modified" be used to differentiate the technology in question from other traditional techniques.
57. The Observer from the EC informed the Committee that the recently adopted EC Regulation No. 258/97 concerning novel foods and novel foods ingredients, included provisions for foods containing or consisting of genetically modified organisms as well as foods derived from them.
58. The Observer from Consumers International stressed the need for comprehensive labelling in order to allow consumers to make an informed choice and the necessity to proceed rapidly in this area in view of the importance of the subject for consumers. The Observer from IFOAM pointed out that this issue was also very important for the organically produced food industry and supported comprehensive labelling of all genetically modified foods.
59. In view of the considerable implications of this question both for consumers and industry, many delegations indicated that they needed more time to review the document in detail, in order to establish their national position accordingly. The Committee agreed that as a first step, comprehensive governments comments would be required in order to identify the issues to be addressed and provide specific orientations for the work of the Committee.
Status of the Proposed Draft Recommendations for the Labelling of Foods Obtained through Biotechnology (Proposed Draft Amendment to the General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods)
60. The Committee agreed that the Proposed Draft Recommendations, as included in Appendix VI, should be circulated for government comments at Step 3, redrafted by the Secretariat, taking into acount all comments received, for further consideration and thorough discussion in the plenary meeting at the next session.
