GMO Labelling: Guidelines Why a threshold?

Labelling is only required for products that exceed the 0.9 percent threshold. Why not zero percent?

During the production, transportation, and processing of agricultural products, a small amount of mixing between different fields and different shipments is difficult to prevent. For this reason, even when a product was intended to be completely GMO-free, traces of GMOs can often still be detected. Products containing these unintentional or technically unavoidable mixtures with GM material do not require labelling, as long as the GM content does not exceed 0.9 percent.

Informed choice: Thresholds mark the border between the intentional application of genetic engineering and a random and technically unavoidable admixture.

The producer must also be able to prove upon request that all necessary measures were taken to bring the product to market separated from GM goods. If the producer knowingly added GMOs to a product, that product must be labelled as such, regardless of the percentage of GM content. Keep in mind, however, that this threshold is only valid for traces of GMOs that have already been approved in Europe. This means that any traces of GM content found in unlabelled foods has been deemed by European authorities as being safe to eat. Food containing unauthorised or potentially dangerous GMOs cannot be put on the market, regardless of whether or not it is labelled.

The labelling threshold is a reliable benchmark that enables food and feed producers to distinguish between agricultural products from the different cultivation systems and place them on the market accordingly. With this tool, consumers get the chance to make informed choices between different types of products.

Thresholds: Common practice in agriculture and food production

When discussing the purity and mixing of foods, it is important to keep in mind that thresholds and quality criteria have a long precedent in agriculture and food production. Thresholds are routinely used to delineate different product categories.

Labels on honey, for example, will often indicate the plant the honey was produced from (i.e. acacia). If the label states only one plant, the honey must be "predominantly" from the nectar of that plant, i.e. 60-70 percent. These kinds of thresholds and product criteria are by no means statements on the safety of the product. This is also the case for GMO labelling thresholds. The safety of foods is assured by separate, strict approval criteria.

The complete isolation of different agricultural products is virtually impossible. After all, crops are grown in open fields, not closed rooms. Out in the environment, crops release pollen into the air that can pollinate related plants in other fields. And even after harvest, transportation and processing steps may often entail some fortuitous mixing. Thresholds enable farmers to offer organic, conventional, and genetically modified products alongside one another.

See also on GMO-Compass:

• Freedom of choice: Selecting The Deliberately Applied System
• Coexistence in Agriculture: Minimising Pollen Traffic