The confusion about GM products in our markets

here isa small intriguing question about the India-US trade deal that some people believe hasn't got the attention it deserves.

- Karan Thapar

Has India been successful in ensuring that genetically modified products or their derivatives are not given access to our market? The government insists that is the case. At a press conference on February 7, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said “no genetically modified items will enter India”. But is there room for doubt? That's what I want to explore and examine this Sunday morning.

What we are essentially asking is whether soya bean oil and Dried Distillers Grains (DDGs), on which the duty has either been substantially reduced or, possibly, eliminated altogether, contain traces of genetically modified elements. Let's take this step by step.

In the case of soya bean oil, research suggests we don’t have a single, clear and

decisive answer. Some scientists say all traces of genetically modified elements have been eliminated whilst others say it's only reduced. So, it follows, to the extent genetically modified elements remain in soya bean oil they will be consumed and, when that happens, they will become part of the Indian diet.