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EU begins enforcing `frankenfoods' law

European countries start enforcing the world's strictest rules on labeling genetically modified foods today, but few such products are expected to come to market as consumers continue to shun what's often derided around the continent as "frankenfood."

"In the interest of commercial success, we must respect consumer preference," said Francois Perroud, spokesman at Swiss food giant Nestle, which uses approved genetically engineered ingredients "without any hesitation" in the US and elsewhere but keeps them out of Europe.

Europe's biggest retailer, Paris-based Carrefour Group, said its own research shows more than 75 percent of European consumers do not want genetically modified foods.

Its own-brand products have been guaranteed biotech-free since 1999 and other companies are "doing whatever's necessary to make sure their products don't need to be labeled," a Carrefour spokeswoman said.

At the Di per Di supermarket in central Rome, manager Mario Greghi said it would be "useless" to stock such items because they wouldn't sell.

"I prefer not to buy them at all," confirmed Miriam Virdicchi, an 18-year-old high school student shopping for a snack.

Major supermarket chains in Sweden require suppliers to provide documentation that products don't include genetically modified ingredients, and big companies generally comply.

"We are not using such ingredients," said Mike Haines, spokesman for London-based Unilever, maker of Hellmann's mayonnaise, Magnum ice cream bars, Slimfast diet drinks and many other brands.

Foods with biotech ingredients already had labeling requirements in the EU.

But the new rules are tougher because they will include ingredients like vegetable oils and other highly-refined products, such as soy lecithin, where the genetically modified DNA or resulting protein is no longer present or detectable in the final product.

The new threshold level is set at 0.9 percent, down from the current 1 percent.

Traceability rules adopted simultaneously require a paper trail "from the farm to the fork" to deter cheating.

In preparation for the law coming into force, "a lot of food companies have reformulated or found other supply chains" to avoid using the labels, said Dominique Taeymans, director of scientific and regulatory affairs at the European food and drink industry lobby, CIAA.

Food already on the shelves before today can still be sold without being relabeled.

"European consumers should therefore not expect major changes on the market," the CIAA said.

Supporters of the biotech industry, which had fought for less stringent rules, expressed hope Friday that the implementation would clear the way -- as promised -- for the lifting of the EU's 6-year-old moratorium on approving new genetically engineered products.

"It is only logical," said Simon Barber, director of plant biotechnology unit at EuropaBio, a trade lobby.

But opponents pledged to keep up their campaign and were already pushing for even tougher rules to require labels on any meat or dairy products from animals that ate genetically modified feed.

The feed itself will have to be labeled under the new rules, but the EU decided not to label meat or dairy because there was no scientific proof that the altered material made it from the animal's stomach to the end product.

Farm groups in the US -- the world's leading producer of genetically engineered crops -- have opposed labeling, arguing it is unnecessary because their products have been proven safe.

In the US, about 80 percent of the soy crop, half of the canola crop and 40 percent of the corn crop comes from genetically engineered seeds. As the acreage has grown, Europe's markets have closed.

US corn exports to Europe plummeted from 3.3 million tonnes in 1995 to just 25,000 tonnes in 2002, while Canada has lost all of its canola market to Europe since introducing GM crops, according to EU figures. Farmers in both cases have lost an estimated US$300 million a year.

The Bush administration is challenging the EU moratorium at the WTO, claiming it violates international trade rules. It also opposes the labeling rules, which would do little to remove barriers to generally unlabeled US products.

US biotechnology giant Monsanto Co said it still had concerns about the "workability" of the new regulations and the cost of complying with traceability.

Spokesman Tom McDermott said "one positive consequence" could be if the labels end up "normalizing" such products once consumers start seeing them on store shelves. But he did not sound optimistic.

"Our concerns outweigh our hope right now," he said.
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