ABU DHABI // Gulf nations are drafting rules to govern foods containing genetically modified (GM) ingredients, marking the Government's first attempt to regulate the industry. Yesterday, a GCC subcommittee met in the capital to set the agenda for the drafting of regulations to control the testing, production and entry into the region of GM foods.
The states are expected to endorse the rules by late 2009, including one that would require supermarkets and grocery shops to label any foods containing GM ingredients. Such foods are common and scientists generally consider them safe. Food companies also say GM technology may aid in the fight against world hunger by delivering higher crop yields and reducing the use of pesticides. Detractors, however, remain wary of GM crops and believe that ultimately they will harm the environment. Some also suggest that relying on corporations to mass-produce food could drive millions of farmers off their land. There is also some concern that GM foods could cause allergic reactions in some people.
"There are no regulations in the Emirates," said Dr Mariam al Yousuf, the executive director of the policy and regulation sector at Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA). "There's a controversy about GM food and interest at the national level. There are some municipal resolutions but they are not fully implemented." She said the subcommittee's main point of reference for writing the rules was a food code, the Codex Alimentarius, created by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation in 1963 to set food safety standards for international trade.
The GCC delegates have been given a month to come up with proposals for rules and general standards and will discuss them in detail over the next year. The move is part of a wider effort to set standards across the GCC and, in the UAE, government bodies such as ADFCA will be responsible for enforcing the rules. Dr Mohammed Abdul Qader, a technical consultant at the Emirates Authority for Standardisation & Metrology, said: "The goal is to set the basis for the presence of products in the markets, whether at the monitoring or legislative level.
"The goal is to be transparent. It's the consumer's right to know the nature of the product. Even for farmers who import certain seeds, they have the right to know whether the seeds are genetically modified." Experts at yesterday's meeting said it was also necessary to regulate the production of GM food in the region. Dr Mohammed Abdul Monem, a professor at UAE University, said the Emirates was an automatic market for genetically modified staple foods: "Many of the countries that export agricultural products to the UAE, such as Iran and India, use genetic engineering technologies."
Nutrition specialists who attended the inaugural subcommittee meeting that concludes today said they saw no risk in importing GM food products. "There are very few studies that showed that genetically modified foods can be potentially dangerous. But there are much more studies that showed they are not," Dr Monem said. Dr Dina Fakhrawi, a nutritionist with Qatar University added, however, that labelling the modified products was important for consumers' safety because some engineered food could cause allergies. "It's like peanuts. It could be harmful to me if I am allergic to it, while not to you."
On Airport Road, meanwhile, Mustafa Arakkal, the manager of the Millennium supermarket, said he thought the new rules were a fine idea - but would not make any difference to his customers. "People should be informed about the products," he said. "But people don't care. They won't look at the labels - they only want to buy their tomato sauce or whatever." mhabboush@thenational.ae
