GENEVA — During the annual Codex Alimentarius Commission summit here this week, the U.S. delegation dropped its opposition to genetically modified (GM) labelling guidance document, agreed to by regulators from more than 100 countries, according to a report on the website of the Groundswell Project, a group opposed to genetically modified foods.
The U.S. move was described as "a striking reversal of their previous position" by the website. The new Codex agreement means that any country wishing to adopt GM food labelling will no longer face the threat of a legal challenge as a barrier to trade from the World Trade Organization (WTO), the site said.
The report quoted Edita Vilcapoma of the Peruvian consumer group ASPEC as saying, "Peru's recent introduction of GM food labelling faced the threat of a legal challenge from the WTO. This new Codex agreement now means that this threat has gone and the consumer right to be informed has been secured.”
The Codex Alimentarius Commission is made up of the world's food safety regulatory agencies.