Genetically modified food is safe to eat, says China's agriculture minister
Han Changfu's statement most public effort yet to dispel doubts on genetically modified produce
Agriculture Minister Han Changfu says there is no reason to fear genetically modified food and that he regularly eats it himself.
Han said most soya bean oil products sold on the mainland were made from imported GM soya beans. He spent over 20 minutes explaining the rigours of the safety assessment and supervision network for GM foods.
The minister also said the outbreak of bird flu should not deter people from eating chicken.
"As agriculture minister, I promise you eating chicken is safe," he said, adding that poultry farms had not been infected with the H7N9 virus. Mainland health authorities have reported more than 120 human cases this year.
According to Han, 17 GM products from five plant species - soya beans, corn, oilseed rape, cotton and tomatoes - are sold on the domestic market. Rules require such products to acknowledge their GM content on their packaging. GM cotton and papaya were the only crops approved for commercial planting on the mainland, he said.
Cui, who is also a deputy to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, urged authorities to release information about a batch of exported rice that Europe refused to accept in 2006 because a GM variety of the grain was found.
"Developed countries are now seizing the leading edge in GM technology studies, and many developing countries are also actively following," he said. "We cannot have the technology monopolised by others, and the market cornered by others."
The minister noted the effects of pollution on agriculture. The government was beginning pilot programmes in the south of the country later this year to treat heavy-metal-contaminated soil, he said, without specifying the exact areas.
About 3.33 million hectares of farmland is too polluted to grow crops upon, according to a land survey released last year.