Strasbourg, France
March 29, 2007
Members of the
European Parliament
(MEPs) voted for stricter rules on organic food products by
calling for the maximum allowable figure for accidental
contamination by GMOs to be reduced to 0.1%. However, they
decided not to vote on a final resolution winding up the matter
since the European Commission refuses to grant Parliament the
right of co-decision on the legislation. The report was
therefore sent back to the EP Agriculture Committee for
reconsideration.
The House voted by 585 votes to 35, with 38 abstentions, for the
regulation to be made subject to the EP-Council co-decision
procedure since it covers the production and distribution of
processed food in the single market (which comes under
co-decision) and not just agricultural produce (which comes
under the consultation procedure).
Faced with the Commission's refusal to change the legal basis of
the regulation, Parliament decided to give itself more time to
convince the Commission by referring the matter back to its
Agriculture Committee (an option available under Rule 53 of the
EP's Rules of Procedure). Under the consultation procedure, the
Council cannot adopt its position until Parliament has decided
on its own stance through a plenary vote.
Nevertheless, MEPs were keen to send a strong political message
by voting today on a number of amendments that significantly
strengthen the Commission's proposal in various ways, notably on
the question of GMOs.
"No" to contamination by GMOs
The Commission's plan is not to allow any food products to be
legally sold as "organic" if they contain GMOs, unless they have
been contaminated accidentally and even then only up to the
current Community threshold of 0.9% of GMOs allowed for
conventional food.
However, by 324 votes to 282, with 50 abstentions, MEPs today
backed an amendment seeking to reduce the threshold to 0.1% in
the case of organic products. They also called, by a narrow
majority, for the Commission to propose by 1 January 2008 a
directive providing for precautionary measures to prevent GMO
contamination throughout the food chain, with clear rules on
liability and application of the "polluter-pays" principle.
Parliament also voted to spell out more clearly the fact that
there is a ban on "GMOs and products produced from or with GMOs"
in organic farming, and that there are no exceptions, even for
veterinary medicinal products. MEPs also say that only
organically produced seed and propagating material which has
been proved to be GMO-free should be used and that operators
should "take all appropriate steps to avoid any contamination
with GMOs" and "supply evidence that no contamination has taken
place".
Stricter standards and limited derogations
Members adopted amendments laying down stricter rules for the
use of plant-health products and veterinary treatments as well
as national derogations thereto. They also want Member States to
be allowed to apply stricter national rules if they wish.
Logos and labelling particulars
Parliament believes the European logo (to be used for food where
95% of the ingredients are organic) should be compulsory on such
products, not just an option, so that consumers throughout the
EU can recognise products which comply with Community standards.
However, MEPs voted to drop the letters "EU" from the term
"EU-ORGANIC", which the Commission wanted to make compulsory.
They argue that this term may be confusing for consumers,
leading them to believe that the product originates in the EU,
whereas it may come from a third country. For similar reasons
Parliament calls for labels to indicate the country of origin of
a product.
Tightening up controls, including those on imports
Parliament stresses that national control bodies should be
accredited in line with European standards. In addition, Member
States must ensure that their inspection systems enable products
to be traced through all stages of production, preparation and
distribution, so as to guarantee consumers that organic products
have been produced in line with the new rules.
An up-to-date list of control authorities and approved control
bodies must be made available to interested parties. Moreover,
operators from non-EU countries must be in a position to provide
importers or national authorities with documentary evidence
issued by a competent Community control body.
Rules must apply to catering industry too
MEPs argue that the regulation should cover the catering
industry (take-aways, canteens, restaurants and similar service
providers). And, in addition to the production, processing,
packaging and labelling of products, the new rules should cover
"conditioning", manufacture and storage.
However, Parliament backed a number of amendments seeking to
exclude fisheries products from the regulation, saying that
special legislation should be introduced for products from
organic fish farms. |
|
