October 31, 2006

 

Romania's GM crops run afoul of EU regulations

 

 

Romania might find itself excluded from the EU markets and even face a hard time selling its GM products locally, because of delays in complying with European food traceability and labelling regulations.

 

An increased use of GM crops hindered organic agriculture, an area in which Romania had the potential to be competitive in the EU market, felt the experts.

 

A large percentage of the GM soy in Romania was planted with non-certified seed, meaning its origins could not be identified or traced.

 

Romania has tried to salvage the situation, banning the cultivation of GM soy as of Jan 1, 2007. However, it was not enough to address Europe's concerns, analysts said.

 

In 2002, the manufacturers of GM products were asked to declare this information on packages and labels. The effort came to naught.

 

The poor level of compliance reflected the lack of interest in the Romanian market, contrasting with the situation in Western Europe.

 

Few Romanians felt eating GM food products was risky, according to local consumer groups. There is a prevailing notion that if Romanians avoided eating everything bad, they would have died of starvation.

 

The Romanian government has been trying to match food production standards with EU environmental rules. Some of it include cutting production of GM herbicide resistant soy that the EU does not approve of, and introducing a monitoring and control system for GM crops.

 

These efforts, however, have met with little success. This year, the production of GM soy doubled from about 65,000 to 130,000 hectares.

 

Romanian farmers have a strong incentive to grow GM soy as combating weeds and beetles was time consuming and expensive and the cultivation of resistant varieties helped combat pests.

 

The National Environmental Guard has been struggling to halt activities of those who bought seeds from producers and sold them on.

 

If the country failed to adopt the traceability and labelling measures required by the EU legislation, starting with 2007, all its soy products would be banned from EU markets, according to agricultural consultant Dragos Dima.

 

Although EU legislation does not ban GM products altogether, it insists on strict rules concerning the release of GM seeds into the environment and the traceability and labelling of GM organisms, GMOs, and GMOs in food and animal feed.

Video >

Follow Us

FacebookTwitterLinkedIn