WASHINGTON -- A consumer organization is calling for stricter government regulation of genetically modified foods.
aire approach to the regulation of GM foods allows manufacturers to market products to consumers with little government oversight and frees the Food and Drug Administration from blame if the foods are ultimately found to be unsafe.
"FDA allows manufacturers complete freedom to assert that a new product is 'substantially equivalent' to an existing food, [and such] products do not require any additional safety testing," Carol Tucker Foreman, the former assistant secretary of agriculture who oversaw the writing of the report, said.
The report recommends several changes aimed at enhancing the safety of genetically modified foods, including:
Abandoning the FDA's assumption, in place since 1992, that most genetically modified foods are essentially the same as non-GM foods and consequently should not be subject to the same kinds of lengthy FDA reviews required for food additives.
Requiring extensive health and environmental testing by manufacturers and academics relating to the consequences of introducing GM plants into the environment and the food supply.
Requiring manufacturers to put labels on or near all food products containing more than a negligible amount of GM material, to give consumers the option to avoid them.
Requiring manufacturers to notify regulatory agencies of plans to market GM foods and to make those plans available for public comment.
