May 18, 2000 / The Toronto Star / Stuart Laidlaw, Toronto Star Business Reporter
Grocers in Canada have, according to this story, agreed that no products on their shelves will be allowed to be labelled free of genetically modified ingredients until a federal standards board comes up with a uniform code for such labels, a process that is expected to take at least another year.
In the meantime, the story says, grocers are requiring that stickers be placed over any packaging that claims the contents are GM-free.
Jeanne Cruikshank, vice-president of the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors, was quoted as saying, "Until we have consistent national standards, they will not be promoting labelling of GM or GM-free products."
The story says the stickers, which are most often applied by the food manufacturers at the request of retailers, replace the existing labels with wording that removes any reference to genetic modification.
For example, a U.S. soy milk sold in Toronto grocery stores has a sticker on its carton saying the product is certified organic. Under the sticker, the label not only says the milk is certified organic, but that it is GM-free. All North American organic standards require that a product be GM-free.
Michael Khoo of Greenpeace was cited as saying the grocers should direct their efforts more toward putting labels on food rather than covering them up, adding, "They're covering up the truth. If they have time to cover up the GM-free labels, they have time to put real labels on."
The food industry has long complained that without labelling standards, consumers have no way of assessing the validity of GM claims made on food packaging. That concern has been reflected in the deliberations at the standards board committee, where much of the discussion during the three meetings held so far has been over the definition of genetically modified food.
(posted without permission)
