Producers should not have to label honey accidentally contaminated with GM-containing pollen, MEPs say.
The European Parliament today (15 January) rejected a European court order to start labelling honey contaminated with genetically modified (GM) pollen, siding with the European Commission.
In 2011, the European Court of Justice ruled that honey inadvertently contaminated with GM pollen must be labelled as such under European Union legislation. The Commission then put forward a proposal to revise the legislation. But instead of adding a labelling provision, the Commission opted to clarify that pollen is a constituent part of honey, not an ‘ingredient’ that would need to be labelled.
The Parliament’s environment committee sided with the ECJ, deleting all references to pollen as a constituent party and inserting provisions that deem pollen to be an ingredient under GM legislation.
The full Parliament rejected this position today, siding with the Commission. Centre-right British MEP Julie Girling, who is co-ordinating the legislation, welcomed the result. She said requiring relabelling would cost the industry €3.25 million and undermine consumer perception of honey as a natural product. She said the honey industry should not become collateral damage in the GM fight.
The Green group expressed disappointment with the result. “With EU countries importing honey from GM producing countries and two of the main EU honey-producing member states – Spain and Romania – having authorised the production of this GM maize, honey contaminated with GM pollen will increasingly be available on our shop shelves,” said Belgian Green MEP Bart Staes.
“Regrettably, a majority of MEPs was swayed by an intense lobbying campaign, led by honey importers,” he added.
The proposal must still go to the European Council, which is roughly evenly divided on the GM issue. If the Commission’s version of the proposal is also adopted by the Council and becomes law, it may be challenged in the European courts.
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