Firm sets up first GM food-testing service

Hong Kong's first commercial service to certify food products are free of genetically modified ingredients has been set up.

The move came as the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department gave the strongest indication yet that mandatory labelling could be put in place soon.

Dr Alfred Cheung Wai-kin of Intertek Testing Services said food manufacturers and shops would need the service because they would have to certify products once a labelling system was enforced.

'Without mandatory labelling, it would only be a fringe business,' said Dr Cheung, who heads the company's food and pharmaceutical division.

'But with a regulatory system in place, there would be a significant need for companies to meet both regulatory requirements and establish credibility with customers who demand the right to know.' The new service is jointly run with US-based Genetic ID, a leading certification company which has an extensive database on most commercially or experimentally modified organisms.

Certification involves tracking and documenting entire product lines in the production chain from farms to retail shelves, sample testing and inspection.