Health Ministry is Quiet as the Controversy on Genetically Modified Foods Deepens.

• Author: Cooray, Prasanna S.
• Position: Biodevastation - Sri Lanka, Ministry of Health - Brief Article

The regulation made by the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, banning the sale of Genetically Modified (GM) foods, that was scheduled to come into effect May 1, 2001, and postponed to 1 September 2001, has been deferred indefinitely. We understand that some foreign diplomatic offices and food importers had lobbied strongly for the removal of this new regulation. It is learnt that certain terms and conditions of an agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO), of which Sri Lanka is a signatory, has been cited as the main reason for the Sri Lankan government to refrain from bringing the new regulation into effect.

If this new regulation had come into effect, it would have not only banned the importation, manufacture, sale or distribution of all genetically modified foods, but also required verification by the producers that they contain no ingredients or materials subject to genetic modification.

However, we feel that the list of food items is grossly inadequate and misleading. For example, there are many brands of cheese and soya products in the market, but all of them may not be genetically modified. Therefore we urge the Ministry of Health to release a list of food items in their brand names. If not, we will be compelled to release a list of GM foods in their brand names, which is...