Labelling
Scope of Application
This applies to foods which are supplied as such to the final consumer or to mass caterers (Restaurants, hospitals...) and that it is a genetically modified food, or it or its ingredients contain or are produced from genetically modified organisms.
The labelling requirements shall not apply to foods containing material which contains, consists or is produced from genetically modified organisms in a proportion no higher than 0.9% of the food ingredients considered individually or food consisting of a single ingredient, provided that this presence is adventitious or technically unavoidable.
In order to establish that the presence of this material is adventitious or technically unavoidable, operators must be in a position to supply evidence to satisfy the competent authorities that they have taken appropriate steps to avoid the presence of such material.
Requirements
- They shall be subject to the general laws on the labelling of foodstuffs and the following specific labelling requirements:
- Where the food consists of more than one ingredient, the following shall appear in the list of ingredients in parentheses, immediately following the ingredient concerned:” genetically modified” or “produced from genetically modified (name of the ingredient)
- where the ingredient is designated by the name of a category, the words “Contains genetically modified (name of organism)” or “contains (name of ingredient) produced from genetically modified (name of organism) shall appear in the list of ingredients.
- Where there is no list of ingredients, the words “genetically modified” or “produced from genetically modified (name of organism)” shall appear clearly on the labelling;
Examples:
“Breakfast cereals”, if one of the ingredients is genetically modified maize, the list of ingredients of the label shall include: “maize flour (produced from genetically modified maize).
“Chocolate biscuit” when the chocolate contains genetically modified soya lecithin, the label shall contain the following text: “….chocolate (contains lecithin produced from genetically modified soya)”