China: High fines for mislabeled GM food

The municipal government of Shenzhen has imposed the country’s highest fine yet for improper labelling of GM food, the South China Morning Post reports. Offenders  will face up to CNY 100,000 (over €12,000) in penalties.
 

The draft regulation went through public consultation and now is sent to the People’s Congress in Shenzhen for deliberation. Shenzhen municipal government decided in June that from August this year all soy beans and their products sold in Shenzhen must be labelled if they are from GM soy beans. Shenzhen’s new regulation calls for a real-time monitoring and alert system to trace GM organisms and to evaluate the risks of using them in human food and animal feed

Businesses producing or selling GM food in China have to register with the municipal food safety department and label the ingredients clearly. Violators of the law, however, usually face fines from CNY 10,000 to 50,000. According to information from South China Morning Post, offenders have seldom been punished so far. Shenzhen’s new rule marks a further step towards strengthening control of GM food products. More information is available here.