Govt yet to finalise GM labelling norms

The sweet and spicy corn cups that children relish at the malls could be GM corn if anti-GM groups are to be believed.

But, whether they are GM or not, the common man has no way to know. The reason is that the health ministry has not finalised labelling norms for spelling out what is GM and what is not.

The draft notification has been in the public domain inviting objections since March. The two-month period for public comment lapsed on May 20, while the foreign trade policy regarding GM food becomes operative from July 7.

However, the ministry officials say the norms may take another six months. They are not aware of the July 7 deadline.

The foreign trade policy announced in April has a clause on GM articles and provides for penal provisions for non-declaration of GM content. But this clause has been kept in abeyance pending finalisation of the labelling norms by the health ministry. "We have received a lot of objections and are in the process of examining them before finalising the norms," a top official said.

The norms in any case would not be judgmental but merely providing an informed choice to consumers so that they could know what is GM and what is not, the official added.

But in the interim period, there is no bio-safety mechanism at entry points to check for GM content in food articles as they exist for exotic weeds and for testing food for pesticide residue.

The Department of Biotechnology is yet to take GM testing of food items into account, says Devinder Sharma of Forum for Biotechnology and Food Security, Delhi. Sweet corn imported from US is GM and so is a lot of soya oil, he says.

Sharma, whose organisation is part of the larger multi-state body called Coalition Against GM, is critical of the labelling norms that have been drafted.

"The health ministry has washed its hands of testing food for safety. Instead, it would just rely on information provided by manufacturers and pass it on to the consumers. We want the Indian Council of Medical Research or the Indian Council of Agricultural Research to be consulted before any GM product is allowed."