Reuters | October 20, 1999 | Julie Vorman
WASHINGTON - Rep. Nick Smith, a Michigan farmer, was cited as saying that some European activists are bent on "poisoning" American consumer confidence in genetically modified (GM) foods as the U.S. government launches a new review of the products, adding, "Activists in Europe have been very successful in generating distrust of gene technology. Now they are bringing their rhetoric here."
Smith, who heads a House Science subcommittee on research, held a third hearing Tuesday on biotech foods. U.S. government agencies need to do a better job of reassuring the public that GM foods are safe, Smith said, and he criticized European activists for "poisoning the debate" abroad by exploiting an anti-Americanism sentiment and the EU's unreliable food safety regulatory system.
Labels on bioengineered foods have been embraced by the European Union, Japan and other countries, where consumer and green groups have expressed concern about the foods' long-term safety and environmental effects.
The story says that the U.S. government has long maintained that labels are unnecessary unless a biotech food has been significantly changed or an allergen introduced into it. But Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it would launch a review of the safety of biotech foods, and whether labels may be needed to give the public more information.
Mark Silbergeld, head of Consumer Union's Washington office, a prominent advocacy group, was cited as saying there is no scientific evidence that GM foods are unsafe, but insisted that neutrally worded labels are essential to give American shoppers a choice at the grocery store, adding, "The refusal of the FDA to require labels creates the concern that something is being hidden, and that creates worry."
The story adds that U.S. food companies flatly oppose labels on GM foods, saying shoppers might be scared away. They are trying to persuade regulators that better alternatives are consumer brochures, information displays at grocery counters, toll-free telephone numbers, and web sites.
More than two dozen food and farm groups recently formed the Alliance for Better Foods and launched a consumer-friendly web site with information about GM foods.
Rep. Lynn Woolsey, a California Democrat who supports labels was quoted as saying, "Nobody is going to take their Internet web page to the grocery store with them. We need to err on the side of caution in favor of consumers."
Silbergeld added that the FDA approval procedures for GM foods must be tightened to require companies to provide more data and records, stating, "Our regulatory framework is too fragmented and too reliant on industry self-regulation."
James Maryanski, the FDA's biotechnology coordinator, acknowledged that companies give only test data summaries to the agency, but he said the informal consultative procedure "has worked well to date" and lets the FDA resolve any safety issues before GM food products reach the grocery store.
Rep. Gil Gutnecht, a Minnesota Republican, was quoted as saying, "If we're going to go ahead with GM crops, and I hope that we do, we're going to have to figure out a way to negotiate."
