§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the letter of the Minister for the Environment, Ref. 162822, of 26 March 2002, what the outcome is of the discussions with interested parties on EU food labelling rules requiring a GM presence to be indicated. [51179]
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§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 25 April 2002]: In my letter to the hon. Member I noted that current EU food labelling rules are based on a 1 per cent. threshold for incidental GM presence. My reference to discussions with interested parties related to the issue of how GM and non-GM crops might co-exist at farm level. My officials have had preliminary talks on this with various stakeholders. These revealed a wide range of views and we are now considering how to take the matter forward. The Food Standards Agency lead on the specific issue of food labelling.