China says no commercial production of genetically modified staple food allowed
PTI Mar 7, 2014, 11.54AM IST
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(Genetically modified food…)
BEIJING: China has not approved commercial production of any
genetically modified (GM) staple food, Chinese Minister of Agriculture
Han Changfu has said.
"We have been cautious over GM food because
we want to make sure that it is safe," he said at a press conference
yesterday on the sidelines of the annual session of the National
People's Congress, the country's top legislature.
China granted bio-safety certificates in 2009 to two pest-resistant GM
rice varieties and one type of corn, the first country to allow field
trials of GM staple foods.
Stating that the country's GM safety
regime remains strict, Han threatened severe punishment for any
unauthorised GM crop sales, planting and field trials.
GM food
remains controversial nearly two decades after being introduced in the
commercial market and there is still no consensus on whether they are
harmful to humans. A total of 28 countries have planted GM crops.
As much as 81 per cent of soybeans, 35 per cent of corn and 30 per cent
of oilseed rape in the world are GM products, state-run Xinhua
reported, citing the International Service for the Acquisition of
Agri-biotech Applications, a non-profit organisation devoted to
promoting crop biotechnologies.
The debate on the safety of GM
food was revived in China last year when celebrities joined netizens and
experts to appeal for the consumers' right to know when they're buying
GM products.
In China, 90 per cent of soybean oil, which accounts
for more than half of cooking oil consumption, is made from GM
soybeans. Han said he himself consumes food containing GM ingredients.
"Whether GM food is safe or not should not be decided by departments or
individuals, it should be decided by scientists following strict
standards and procedures," he said.
China has set up committees of experts to supervise GM crop safety management.
Mandatory food labelling for 17 varieties of GM products is required by law or regulation, he added. --
Rajesh Krishnan
Convenor, Coalition for GM Free India
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