German consumers get “No Genetic Engineering� label for food

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German consumers get “No Genetic Engineering†label for food

_http://current.com/1919e4c_ (http://current.com/1919e4c)

 

 

German consumers can now find out if their food has been genetically

modified. Minister of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Ilse Aigner,

recently

introduced a new “No Genetic Engineering†logo.

 

 

The green and white logo, which reads Ohne Gentechnik in German, will

guarantee that food has no trace of genetically engineered substances.

 

 

The primary application of the label is to identify foods, such as meat or

milk, derived from animals not fed GM feed.

 

 

Aigner said companies have had the option to use such a label since 2008,

but few companies have done so to date.

 

 

“Through the adoption of a universal logo, consumers’ freedom to choose

will be strengthened, and I hope that the label will be used actively,â€

Aigner said.

 

 

A majority of Germans prefer not to buy GM food and consumer and

environmental organizations have welcomed the label. A poll conducted recently

by

forsa, the German polling firm, concludes that the new label would make sense

to 78% of all Germans.

 

 

“The new seal achieves clarity in the labeling jungle,†said genetic

engineering expert for Greenpeace Barbara Kamradt, adding that it will also

increase the value of these products.

 

 

(Source: The Local {Germany})