1.UK: Get unlabelled GM ingredients out of your local restaurants
2.Romania: 'Gene detectives' to expose GMOs
3.Germany: 'GM-free' law now in force
4.Korea: GMO LABELS MAY BE PUT ON SNACK
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1. UK: Get unlabelled GM ingredients out of your local restaurants
It is illegal for caterers to use GM ingredients unless they are clearly labelled on their menus or displayed on a prominent notice. But despite this many cafes, restaurants, takeaways and pubs are routinely using GM oil in their cooking without letting their customers know. In fact, they might not even know they are doing it themselves.
* TAKE ACTION
We would like people to ask the Trading Standards office of their local authority what they are doing to make sure that caterers stick to the rules, and also to contact caterers themselves to make sure that they are aware of their legal responsibilities. Our new action guide, including sample letter, makes it quick and easy for you to do so:
http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/action_guides/gm_oil_guide.doc
Norfolk Trading Standards have already taken action, see:
'Warning to takeaways over GM ingredients'
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=8968
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2.AGRICULTURE MINISTRY AND FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY HAVE ILLEGAL SECRETS TOWARD ROMANIANS ON GMOS
Greenpeace Romania, 3 June 2008
http://db.zs-intern.de/uploads/1213027204-GPRomania-GeneDetectives.pdf
Greenpeace Campaign - 'Gene detectives' to expose GMOs
Bucuresti, 3rd of June - Greenpeace today launches the 'Gene detective' campaign [1] to expose locations for cultivation of GM crops because Governments institutions keeps GMO data as secret [2]. 'It's time that somebody to defend romanians will not eat GMOs against agro-chemical companies and their satelites from the government that treat us as guinea pigs since they refuse to publish locations for GM crops cultivation and the result of lab analysis for suspect food. Starting today any romanian citizen can be a gene detective to expose what Agriculture Ministry and Food Safety Authority are illegaly keeping as a secret', said Gabriel Paun, Greenpeace Campaigner.
For the beginning the campaign aims the fields. The second stage will look into the shelves. The gene detective work consists of observation and sending samples of maize, soya, rapeseed and sun-flower fields that are GMO suspects. Samples are being sent to Greenpeace office that holds 200 fast tests that will offer imemdiate results [3]. In case of positive results, Greenpeace will anounce the national Environmental Guard that should take secondary samples from locations indicated by the detectives together with Greenpeace volunteers specialized in sampling. The locations where GMOs are confirmed will be published on Greenpeace webpage.
The gene detectives have 'The Suspects List' [4] at their disposal, meaning the list of farmers that have grown GM soya in the last years [5] and that are mainly having rented the largest fields from the State. The campaign should prevent farmers growing GM maize MON810 since the Ministry of Environment has started the procedures to ban it and demands farmers not to grow it starting this year [6].
First ones to answer the call to be gene detectives are the organic farmers. GMOs are banned in organic farming and their presence endangers the entire production. The organic farmers knows that coexistance is immposible and considers the Agriculture Ministry atitude to be illegal and iresponsible.
'It's very likely that the Ministry is afraid that we will proove again that once GMOs are released in environment they will go out of control. Since we don?t know where GMOs are, nobody can be responsible. They make us believe that they are so exposed to agrochemical corporations influence that they are ready to break people?s right to access environmental information that is granted by international conventions and romanian legislation. By keeping in secret the locations where there is GMOs cultivation the ministry is cancelling farmers right to defend against contamination with GMOs and by the lack of proper check products labeling they are refusing consumers right to choose to eat GMO free', said Willy Schuster, organic farmer from Transilvania, Romania, member of Biocoop Sibiu.
Greenpeace demands:
- Ministry of Agriculture to publish the locations of GMOs cultivation for 2007 and 2008
- Food Safety Authority to publish the results of food analysis and the measures taken for GM food between 2006-2008
- Ministry of Environment to urgently finalize banning cultivation of GM maize MON810
For more information:
Willy Schuster, organic farmer, member of Biocoop Sibiu, tel: +40 269 862206
Gabriel Pa'un, Greenpeace Romania, +40 744 351977
Notes:
[1]http://www.greenpeace.ro/articol.php?aID=171
[2] Agriculture Ministry letter to Greenpeace 278234/05.07.2007 is available at request
Food safety authority letter to Greenpeace 41328/20.09.2006 is available at request
[3] To do more testings Greenpeace needs donations because the fast tests are expensive. Greenpeace doesn?t accept government and companies money and encourages private persons to make donations for more testing at:
Fundacia Greenpeace CEE Romania
Codul de identificare fiscala: 22747989
Cod bancar: RO 17 BACX 0000 0001 2645 6001
[4] http://www.greenpeace.ro/articol.php?aID=170
[5] Cultivation of GM soya has been banned in Romania since 1st of January by Government Decission
[6] Ministry of Environment speech 27.03.2008:
http://www.mmediu.ro/biroul_de_presa/comunicate_de_presa/03_Martie_2008/27.03.08 c.doc
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3. Germany's 'GM-free' positive claims law now in force
Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Germany
(translated and posted by TraceConsult, Switzerland - via Genet)
http://db.zs-intern.de/uploads/1213027353-GMfreeLabellingGermany.pdf
Brdo/Berlin (dpa) - The last hurdles for voluntary labeling 'ohne Gentechnik' [ = no genetic engineering] of foodstuffs have now been removed.
This was announced by [Germany's] Federal Minister of Agriculture Horst Seehofer on Tuesday at a meeting with his EU colleagues in Brdo, Slovenia. Polish concerns against the regulation have been cleared, [he said]. The Federal Government did not want to let the legislation go into force after [before?] the EU partners had been heard.
According to the new regulation, manufacturers can now add to the packaging of milk, meat and eggs the words 'no genetic engineering' - even if the feedstuff may contain genetically modified additives.
Until now, the application of biotechnology in food products had to be excluded completely so that there were hardly any products labeled this way.
The 'no genetic engineering' regulation is part of the new biotech legislation which President Horst Kohler had approved in the beginning of April. All EU Member States had to be asked about the new 'no genetic engineering' claims regulation.
The food industry fears negative consequences for the market of genetically modified products and considers the regulation deceiving.
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4. GMO LABELS MAY BE PUT ON SNACK
Kim Rahn
The Korea Times, 15 may 2008 http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/05/117_24236.html
Snack and edible oil makers may have to disclose whether they use raw materials containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their products.
The government is considering forcing processed food manufacturers using GM ingredients to put labels showing the use of GMOs, according to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, Thursday. GMO refers to plants and animals that have had their genetic material deliberately altered.
So far, the government has exempted food makers from labeling processed foods.
The ministry plans to decide on whether to expand the labeling after collecting experts' opinions.
Four food companies recently began importing GM corn to use in making starch, which is a core ingredient of many foods such as bread, noodles, cookies and soft drinks. Customers' groups claim the government should expand the GMO labeling system to protect the public's right to know and right to choose non-GM foods.
But some experts say that it will not be easy for the government to confirm whether non-GM food manufacturers really use natural products.
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