China orders hunt for facilities illegally producing genetically modified food
Recent reports of illegal GM food in the market prompts agriculture ministry to issue stricter orders
The continued illegal sale of genetically modified (GM) food in parts of China has prompted the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA)to order officials to track down possible testing facilities.
In a document published yesterday, the ministry asked agricultural supervisors to look for possible unauthorised genetic modification testing sites at research institutions, universities and corporations.
It also ordered local governments to step up the supervision of GM food in the market.
The government has only approved two genetically modified plants – insect-resistant cotton and virus-resistant papaya – to be harvested for commercial purposes.
But the ministry acknowledged yesterday that the “illegal spread of GM food in certain areas”, which it said has sparked off public debate.
Under pressure from rapidly increasing food consumption, Beijing favours a “proactive attitude” on GM technology research but is careful about actual commercial sales.
Last month, environmental group Greenpeace said an independent laboratory’s test of 15 samples of rice bought randomly from markets in Wuhan showed that four contain GM varieties. Other illegal sales of GM crops have been reported in recent years.