Genetically modified, scientific logo is not easy
On August 26, the Ministry of Agriculture announced its reply letter to the proposal to strengthen the safety management of genetically modified foods.
From the four aspects of “Regulation of Genetically Modified Organism Safety Managementâ€, “Safety of Genetically Modified Foodsâ€, “Safety Supervision of Genetically Modified Organisms†and “Logistics Management of Genetically Modified Foodsâ€, the reply letter has combed measures taken by China to regulate genetically modified organisms and genetically modified foods.
The reply letter came out immediately and attracted widespread attention. Then, how do countries label the genetically modified products? Quantitative identification and qualitative identification in the end is better or worse? What is the cost of genetically modified markers? On these issues, the reporter interviewed relevant experts.
Different countries have different management of genetically modified logos
At present, 70% of the world's population lives in countries that have approved the cultivation or import of genetically modified crops. More than 40 countries and regions have established laws and regulations that require the labeling of genetically modified organisms and their products. Protect consumers' right to know and choose.
The Ministry of Agriculture replied that international management of genetically modified markers is mainly divided into four categories: First, voluntary labeling, such as the United States, Canada, and Argentina; second, quantitative comprehensive mandatory labeling, that is, for all products as long as their genetically modified components exceed the threshold. It must be identified, for example, the European Union requires more than 0.9% genetically modified ingredients, Brazil must specify more than 1% of the genetically modified ingredients, and third, the mandatory part of quantitative labeling, that is, if the content of genetically modified components exceeds a threshold, it must be identified for certain types of products. Tofu, corn snacks, natto and other 24 foods made from soybean or corn are genetically modified and the threshold is set at 5%. Fourthly, the mandatory labeling is based on the catalog, that is, any product listed in the catalog, as long as it contains genetically modified ingredients. Or it is made from genetically engineered crops and must be identified.
China is the only country that adopts a qualitative method of mandatory labeling by directory, and it is also the country with the most logos for genetically modified products.
In 2001, China promulgated and implemented the "Administrative Regulations on the Safety of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms", which stipulates that agricultural genetically modified organisms listed in the Catalogue of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms on the territory of the People's Republic of China should be clearly identified.
In 2002, the Ministry of Agriculture issued the "Regulations on the Administration of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms" and established the first catalogue of labels, including 17 varieties of genetically modified products including soybeans, canola, corn, cotton and tomatoes.
The newly revised "Food Safety Law" stipulates that the production and operation of genetically modified foods should be clearly marked in accordance with regulations, and give the food and drug regulatory authorities the administrative penalties for labeling violations of genetically modified foods.
Quantitative and qualitative identification
Recently, China’s Taiwan region announced that the implementation of genetically-enforced labeling, the use of raw materials for genetically modified foods, and the unintentional incorporation of foods containing more than 3% of genetically modified foods will be marked in three phases starting from July 1. This is a quantitative labeling. .
Since 1993, China has promulgated a series of regulations and rules on the management of genetic transformation. At present, the most rigorous method of qualitative identification is adopted, that is, to answer "yes" and "no" questions. As long as foods contain genetically modified components, they must be identified.
“The qualitative identification is stricter than the quantitative identification, and it requires high technical requirements for detection. However, its scientific nature is open to question and it will bring more problems to supervision and research and development.†said Lin Min, director of the Institute of Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
Chen Junshi, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, also agreed: “I personally think that qualitative identification is not a very scientific practice. For example, the oil produced by genetically modified soybeans does not theoretically contain genes that are transferred in. Because oil is fat, but according to the existing detection methods, A tiny bit (microgram level) can be detected, so the labeling is required, but if you use genetically modified corn as a snack, according to the list system adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture, it is not necessary to identify maize as a cornflakes. Most countries use quantitative labels and believe that more than a certain amount of labels are needed, and China should work hard in this direction."
“But in the United States, the word “non-transgenic†is not allowed, and it is considered to be a discrimination against genetically modified foods.†Lin Min said.
Chen Junshi said that the propaganda and labeling of non-GM foods are strictly unfair business competitions. Although China has no legal provisions, the US Food and Drug Administration can not do so in the express stipulations, arguing that this practice implies that genetic modification is bad. The harmful behavior is unacceptable and unscientific.
"China's genetically modified technologies and industries are increasingly eager to change qualitative labels to quantitative ones. Currently, feasibility technologies are under development." Lin Min revealed.
The cost of genetically modified markers is not low
In the reply letter of the Ministry of Agriculture, the work plan that the food and drug supervision department will take next is mentioned for the label management of genetically modified foods.
However, experts believe that it is still a difficult problem for how to scientifically manage the labeling of genetically modified foods because the cost of genetically modified markers cannot be underestimated.
Recently, in the salon of agricultural genetically modified science, Huang Zhangjin, a media person, believes that, in theory, there is no genetic modification in the product and it is difficult to do so unless it is entirely an agricultural society. In highly civilized societies, such as corn and soybeans, the separation of genetically modified and non-transgenics from warehousing and transportation requires a very low cost.
Jiang Yan, a senior engineer in the Institute of Genetics and Development of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Genetic Research Center, also believes that the cost of genetically modified markers is high.
"China's genetically modified markers are not quantitative, nor are they defined at the operational level. Without detailed definition, it will bring about huge problems," said Jiang Yan.
“For example, the issue of selective enforcement in international trade, as a country that strictly controls grain importers, should lower the target level. Second, there is the issue of sovereignty, which can use genetically regulated quantitative regulations to control the trade behavior of genetically modified foods. As a means of trade games, Jiang Yan said that genetically modified markers not only bring economic costs, but also bring a range of other costs.
"In addition, China's food and drug supervision and management departments do not have universal genetic testing capabilities, so we need to re-establish a network in which the costs of hardware, software, human resources, human resources, reagent consumption, instruments and equipment will be very high." It is said that from the point of view of supervision, the operation is very difficult, which can be regarded as the cost of the mark.
(Technology Daily, Beijing, September 1st)
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