GM Food Labelling. A Law Unenforced in India

According to experts “an unenforced law is worse than no law at all”.

- KRISHAN BIR CHAUDHARY

Unenforced laws are those that are practically ignored by both the authorities and the people. The primary purpose of law or regulation is to tell the people what actions are acceptable and unacceptable in the society. When laws and regulations are not enforced, they lose their purpose, relevance and become meaningless. They only create a false impression that the authority concerned is truly addressing an issue, when it is only making a symbolic gesture on paper.

This article is all about the unenforced laws in India concerning genetically modified (GM) foods. It also provides insights into GM food labelling as practiced in other countries.

In 1993, the Codex Committee on Food Labelling (“CCFL”) began work on developing labelling guidelines for GM food products.

At its 39th session held from May 9-13, 2011, the Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) adopted guidelines for labelling of GM foods. The GM Guidelines were formally adopted at the annual Codex summit in Geneva, Switzerland, in July 2011.

Latest information shows that as many as 65 countries in the world enforce the consumers “right to know” laws for genetically modified (GM) foods.

The European Union (EU) was the first to introduce GM Labelling policies in 1997 and since then many other countries including India have adopted labeling policies for the GM food.

Countries like China, USA, EU and many others have strict regulations for labelling of genetically modified foods.

According to the regulation in force in China, the following requirements are mandatory.

1. All genetically modified plants (including seeds), animals shall be labelled as genetically modified.

2. This provision also applies to products derived from GM technology.

3. The edible products directly processed from the agricultural GMOs shall be labelled as genetically modified products.