§ Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures her Department has in place effectively to monitor imports of(a) human food and (b) animal feed from (i) EU member states and (ii) EU accession states in respect of their compliance with EU regulations on labelling and traceability. [167417]
§ Mr. MorleyImports of Genetically Modified Organisms into and within the EU are covered by existing legislation in the form of Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release into the environment of GMOs, Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 on GM food and feed and Regulation (EC) No. 1830/2003 concerning the traceability and labelling of GMOs and the traceability of food and feed products produced from GMOs). All Regulations take direct effect in both existing member states and accession states.
Domestic implementation of the new Regulations (which cover imports of both human food and animal feed) is a devolved competence. In England, local authorities are under a duty to enforce the requirements. Sample analysis must be carried out by a public analyst laboratory accredited for GM analysis.
§ Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what efforts her Department has made to ensure that EU accession states have the required technical capacity and advice to ensure their compliance with(a) testing, (b) labelling and (c) traceability of GM crops and foods under EU regulations; [167418]
(2) what discussions she has had with (a) the EC and (b) her counterparts in the 10 EU accession states to seek a timetable for the compliance of the accession states with regulations (EC) 1829/2003 and (EC) 1830/ 2003 on the labelling and traceability of genetically modified crops; [167419]
(3) what efforts her Department is making to ensure that (a) EU member states and (b) EU accession states comply with EU rules on genetically modified crops, including regulations (i) (EC) No.1829/2003 and (ii) (EC) No.1830/2003 under directive 2001/18/EC on traceability and labelling. [167420]
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§ Mr. MorleyDirective 2001/18 on the deliberate release into the environment of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is part of the aquis communautaire for the new member states.
New Regulations on traceability and labelling of GMOs (Regulation (EC) 1830/2003) and GM food and feed (Regulation (EC) 1829/2003) are not formally included in the "aquis communautaire" for accession states as negotiations were closed in December 2002. However, the regulations will apply in new member states from 1 May 2004, and new member states will be required to have appropriate legislative frameworks in place. The new Regulations took effect in existing member states from 18 April 2004.
All these Regulations require member states to introduce a proportionate and effective hierarchy of offences and penalties related to the potential seriousness of the failure to comply with the various EU requirements.
The Commission is required to produce Community-wide guidance in relation to the new Regulations, including guidance on sampling and testing, to ensure a co-ordinated approach between member states. Work on this is still under way.
The Secretary of State has not explicitly discussed the application of these Regulations with current or accession member states. However, officials from my Department and the Food Standards Agency continue to liaise with their counterparts in other member states through Regulatory and Standing Committees and informal contacts.