Taiwan to tighten rules on GM product labeling

Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration said Monday that it plans to tighten its regulations on the compulsory labeling of food products containing genetically modified (GM) ingredients, adopting the standards used by the European Union.

Compulsory labeling will apply to food products that contain at least 0.9% of their weight in GM ingredients, administration deputy chief Chiang Yu-mei told the media on the sidelines of a legislative committee hearing.

The current minimum level, based on the Act Governing Food Sanitation, is 5%, but "we will follow the EU standard" and will notify the public of the planned change by the end of December, she said.

After the notification process, public opinion will be sought and scholars and experts will discuss the plan, according to an FDA official responsible for public affairs, implying that the change may not be implemented soon.

The administration must be very cautious since such a change will affect many businesses, the official said.

The food sanitation act will also be amended to raise the maximum fine for false labeling to NT$4 million (US$135,000)from the current NT$200,000, according to the administration.

Taiwan introduced the 5% minimum level regulation in 2001 and has not amended it since then.

Currently, Taiwan allows the importation of GM soybeans and corn. Wantchinatimes