§ Mr. TylerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the circumstances in which individual EU states are permitted to prohibit the importation of genetically modified food. [10969]
§ Mr. RookerArticle 12 of EC regulation 258/97 concerning novel foods and novel food ingredients provides that member states may restrict or suspend the trade of such foods—those containing, consisting of, or produced from, genetically modified organisms—within its territory, where, as a result of new information or a reassessment of existing information, that state has detailed grounds for considering that the use of such food endangers human health or the environment. There are similar provisions in article 16 of EC directive 90/220 on the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms.