Ruling on GMO-based product labeling urged

Ruling on GMO-based product labeling urged

Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) expressed concern on
Sunday over the government's tardy progress in issuing a
regulation on the labeling of GMO-based products, even though
such products were widely distributed and consumed in Indonesia.

According to the YLKI, genetically-modified organism (GMO)s
and transgenic products had been sold in Indonesia for the last
20 years, and yet consumers remained misinformed about the
contents of such products as manufacturers failed to state them
on the labels.

"Consumers have the right to choose which products they
consume by having adequate information," YLKI chairwoman Indah
Suksmaningsih told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The organization cited health concerns and possible impacts on
the environment caused by transgenic experiments -- a way of
creating higher-quality crops and stocks by inserting genes from
other species.

Although there had been no report of Indonesian consumers
being harmed by the products, the potential health risk remained,
she said.

"How can there be any data (on victims) if there's no studies
being made? People might think they were suffering from a certain
illness due to another reason, while actually the GMO-based
products they consumed were the cause," Indah said.

Allergic reactions were the most common occurrence as the
consumers did not realize they were consuming products containing
substances they were allergic to.

Indah gave as an example the preserving of tomatoes, where
producers injected the genes of an Antarctic fish to make the
tomatoes stay fresh during storage.

"A person who's allergic to fish could suffer an illness as he
does not realize that he's consuming tomatoes with fish genes,"
she said.

The YLKI conducted a study from December 2001 through January
2002 and found seven food products that used GMOs in their raw
materials. The products were Isomil Soy and Infant Formula (PT
Abbot Indonesia), Indofood ketchup (PT Indosentra Pelangi), ABC
ketchup (PT Heinz ABC Indonesia), Bangau ketchup (PT Sakura Aneka
Food), Pringles potato chips (Procter & Gamble), corn flakes and
Simba (PT Simba Indosnack Makmur).

The findings were, however, contested by the Indonesian Food
and Beverages Association (Gapmmi), which said that the YLKI had
failed to carry out a thorough study or to mention the amount of
GMOs in each of the products examined.

The food labeling and advertising regulation, which was issued
in 1999 as part of the implementation of the 1996 Food Law,
stipulates that consumers have the right to information on and
protection against GMO-based products.

The regulation, however, has yet to be widely implemented as
the Ministries of Agriculture, Forestry, Food and Horticulture,
and Health, which jointly issued the ruling, have yet to decide
on the level of GMOs that must be declared on the product's
label.

"We plan to finalize it in March this year," Dedi Fardiaz, the
deputy of the hazardous substances and food safety control
section of the Food and Drug Control Agency (BPOM), said on
Sunday.

Dedi acknowledged the potential health risks to consumers who
were allergic to certain proteins in product, while underlining
that not all transgenic products were harmful.

"It really depends on the person. Therefore, this matter
cannot be generalized," Dedi told the Post.

Although many scientists have given assurances that the
technology is harmless, most governments around the world agree
that "the jury is still out" on the real long-term effects on
people's health.