April 21, 2004
By Tania Ralli
Source: New York Times
BERLIN - ALL food sold in the European Union with genetically modified ingredients must now say so on the label, under rules that went into effect on Sunday. Any restaurant serving genetically engineered food must identify it on the menu.
Europe has been unfriendly to modified foods for years. After protests, and with fears rising among consumers that such foods might cause biological and environmental damage, France, Italy and five other countries unofficially banned the sale of any new genetically altered crops five years ago.
Products with modified ingredients have been sold before in the Union, which will expand to 25 members on May 1, from 15. But the first to be labeled as such, Butterfinger bars that were offered five years ago in supermarkets and stores in Germany, proved so unpopular that sales were halted within a year.
To adjust to consumer preferences, Nestlé and the Unilever food conglomerate allow no genetically engineered products in European markets. "The company has found that customers reject modified products," said Elke Schmidt, a Nestlé spokeswoman in Frankfurt. "Consumer confidence is essential to us."
Geert Ritsema, who coordinates the campaign against genetically modified food and crops for Friends of the Earth Europe, headquartered in Brussels, said he approves the labeling of products. "In general, we think this will give the consumer a better choice and a chance to avoid these foods if they don't want them," Mr. Ritsema said.
The rules apply to any product - cereal, frozen pizza, baby formula or whatever - in which more than 0.9 percent of the ingredients have been genetically engineered. Each modified component must be marked in the ingredients list, including vegetable oil or sugars made from modified plants.
Stefan Kern, a spokesman for the Kaufhof chain in Germany, said genetically modified food is not really an issue because customers will not buy it. "We do not stock anything that has been altered," he said.
Andrea Salarías, a restaurant manager in Barcelona, Spain, said Europeans implicitly expect food to be unaltered. "People usually only ask if the fish is fresh," he said.
Some detractors of the regulations say they do not go far enough. Meat, eggs and milk are not subject to labeling, even from animals raised on genetically modified feed.
Shopping for organic apples on Saturday in Berlin, Iris Stöber, 47, said she is concerned about engineered food and supports the labeling. "I don't want to shop with suspicion," she said. "We don't know what kinds of consequences genetically modified food will have."