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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Brand Hong Kong - Asia world city
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Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : EIC 230/4

27 February 2004

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 48/2004

European Union (EU)* :Regulations on Genetically Modified Organisms

Further to Commercial Information Circular No. 84/2001 of 11 May 2001, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU have adopted two Regulations on the authorisation and labelling of genetically modified food and feed, and the traceability and labelling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Details are set out in Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 and No. 1830/2003, copies of which are attached to this circular for reference. The two Regulations will not be applied in full until 18 April 2004, when the EU has put in place all the implementing instruments.

DETAILS

Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 on Genetically Modified Food and Feed (see Attachment I (pdf format))

  1. This Regulation lays down the authorisation procedures and labelling requirements for genetically modified food and feed. Salient points of the Regulation are as follows -

    1. Authorisation procedures: No person shall place genetically modified food and feed on the market unless under the cover of an authorisation. Detailed application procedures and conditions are set out in the Regulation. The authorisation granted shall be valid throughout the Community for 10 years and shall be renewable for 10-year periods.
       

    2. Labelling requirements: To enable the user to make an informed choice, genetically modified food and feed are subject to specific labelling requirements. The labelling should indicate that the product consists of, contains or is produced from GMOs, and contain appropriate information about the nature and the characteristics of the product concerned. Products with minute traces of GMO materials will be exempted from the labelling requirements, provided that the presence of such materials is adventitious or technically unavoidable.

Regulation (EC) No. 1830/2003 on Traceability and Labelling of GMOs (see Attachment II (pdf format))

  1. This Regulation provides a framework for the traceability and labelling of products consisting of or containing GMOs, as well as the traceability of food and feed products produced from GMOs. Salient points of the Regulation are as follows -

    1. Traceability requirements: Operators are required to keep track of the movement of genetically modified products at all stages of the production and distribution chain. They are obliged to transmit specific information about the genetically modified products to the next operator throughout the chain. Furthermore, operators should have in place systems and standardised procedures for keeping the information and identifying, for a period of five years from each transaction, by whom and to whom the products have been made available.
       

    2. Labelling requirements: For products consisting of or containing GMOs, operators must further comply with the specific labelling requirements established for pre-packaged and non-pre-packaged products to indicate the presence of GMOs in the products concerned.

ENQUIRIES

  1. For enquiries about the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5684.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Sandra SOU)

for Director-General of Trade and Industry

* : The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.



  • While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.