Reuters | October 15, 1999
MELBOURNE - Europe's concern over genetically modified foods was driven by fear of the unknown following the mad cow and dioxin scares, a senior U.N. Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) official said on Friday.
FAO food and nutrition division director John Lupien said European consumers' concerns over the safety of GM foods reflected a lack of consultation as the foods were introduced and a loss of confidence in food safety regulators.
"These worries are more a fear of the unknown, I would say, than fear of increased problems with food safety," he told a media briefing.
"We really think there is a great need for better information to everyone about what is going on, and from the U.N. level we are trying to provide that."
U.S. corn and soybean growers have been angered by difficulties they have faced exporting to Europe as a result of the GM issue, which has caused an uproar among consumers.
Lupien said Europe's approach could leave it open to challenge under international trade rules if safety or technical issues were seen as unfair trade barriers.
"No-one has challenged them on that yet, so we will wait and see about that," he said.
He told reporters that European consumer trust in food safety had suffered a double blow due to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, and the contamination of some food in Europe with dioxin this year.
But Lupien said FAO and World Health Organisation (WHO) consultations had found no food safety problems with genetically modified foods.
"One minor exception was the possibility of introducing allergenicity into foods by changing the genetic makeup of the foods. It hasn't happened yet, but it is something that has to be taken care of," he said.
The FAO Codex Alimentarius, or food code committee, has set up an intergovernmental task force to look at GM food issues, with the committee's work to get underway next year.
Lupien said there remained disagreement on international labelling laws for GM food.
"We have to try and reach consensus among those different points of view. So far we have not reached it," he said.
Lupien was in Melbourne to attend the International Food Trade Beyond 200 conference, organised by the FAO.
Representatives from the WHO and World Trade Organisation were among the delegates.
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