Biotech traceability needed to satisfy consumers, EC says.(Brief Article)

Systematic traceability and labeling of bioengineered food is not safety related but provides consumers with "information that they clearly demand," the European Commission told the Codex Ad Hoc Task Force on Foods Derived from Biotechnology.

Biotech labeling is "a key element in fostering public confidence and social acceptance of the application of biotechnology in the agri-food sector," the commission declared. The EC cited halal, kosher, country-of-origin and irradiation labels as examples of other labeling systems not related to food safety.

The EC said it supports a proposal that would allow regulators to use traceability as a risk management tool. Last …