News Release
David Byrne
No. 13/04
February 3, 2004
AUTHORIZATIONS, CONSUMER CONFIDENCE KEY TO GMO ACCEPTANCE
IN EUROPE
David Byrne,
the EU’s
Heath and Consumer Protection Commissioner, told the 6th Annual
Meeting of the
Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) that the EU’s clear and comprehensive
system for authorizing and labeling GMOs
is important in establishing consumer confidence and acceptance in the EU. The
Commission last
week sent a strong signal to European Union member states and trading partners
that it is in favor of moving ahead with authorizations of genetically modified
(GM) varieties and that it is committed to fulfilling its international obligations
while respecting the health and environmental concerns of European consumers.
In
his speech, Transatlantic Food for Thought, Byrne said:
“European consumers can now have confidence that any GM food or feed marketed
in Europe has been
subject to the most rigorous pre-marketing assessment in the world. Consumers
will have a clear choice of products to buy as GM food will be clearly labeled.
For the first time farmers will see systematic, coherent labels on GM-feed. Europe
will have a comprehensive and transparent system of authorization and labeling
that can only enhance business and consumer confidence.
“The new traceability system will ensure that GMOs can be traced at all stages
in the production and marketing chain, thus supporting the labeling regime. We
have made considerable progress with a series of implementing measures that will
soon be in place and which will ensure full application of the new system from
April this year.
“It was certainly regrettable, to say the least, that at the moment we updated
our regulatory framework in line with the latest scientific and international
developments, Argentina, Canada and US requested the establishment of a WTO panel.
But I am confident that the WTO will confirm that the EU fully respects its obligations.”
The
full text is available on
http://eurunion.org/news_rss/ under the “In EU News Today” section.
The
Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) is
a forum of US and EU consumer organizations which develops and agrees joint consumer
policy recommendations to the US government and the European Commission to promote
consumer interest in EU and US policy making and in global issues. So far, a total
of 40 European and 24 US consumer organizations have joined the initiative founded
in 1998.
