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Free or not, GM material allowances increased in the EU
EU ministers have decided to allow a proportion of genetically-modified material into products that may still be labelled GM Free.
Agriculture ministers have decided that produce containing 0.9pc of genetically modified organisms (GMO's) instead of current 0.1pc gold standard followed by leading supermarkets will be allowed to be sold unlabelled.
With the 0.1pc levy, green campaigners believe that it forces producers to ensure that their produce is "untainted". Though by adopting the higher threshold of 0.9pc this will encourage lower standards in producing truly organic, they argued.
Ministers meeting in Luxemburg believe that to maintain the 0.1pc, the lowest level at which GM organisms could be scientifically detected, would have a greater impact on the organic standards and increase costs for farmers.
This higher levy is sufficient for "accidental" or technically unvoidable" presence of approved GMO's. The Agriculture Commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel said "It can be very tempting to say "zero tolerance", but that wouldn't work in real life.
Representative from Friends of the Earth, Helen Hodder, GMO Campaigner, said it would become more "acceptable" to the authorities that GM traces are found in organic food whether it was "accidental or technically unavoidable". Organic Farmers will find it increasingly difficult to keep their crops GM-free.
Marco Contieri, of Greenpeace, said: "The lax attitude taken by the European commission and some member states disregards the preferences of European consumers and may put the whole organic sector at risk."
"In practice, low levels of genetically-modified material could start slipping into all organic food."
The Government is well aware that consumers in the UK have requested GM Free, though it believes that consumers will have to put up with cross contamination. Though with continued pressure from the Soil Association and other certification bodies, organic food will still only continue to accept organic content and not allow any GM percentage.
 
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