Labeling of GM foods and food products is also a contentious issue. On one hand, the factories and companies believe that labeling should be voluntary and influenced by the demands of the free market. There are not mandatory regulations in some countries (e.g., United State). On the other hand, consumers also have the right to know what they are eating. Therefore, there many people think it is necessary to make mandatory regulations for labeling of GM foods. The European Union has brought in regulations for the mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods. We should take some sequences into account if labeling of GM foods becomes mandatory. First, are consumers willing to absorb the cost of such an initiative? If the food production industry is required to label GM foods, factories and farmers will need to change the whole existing processing, storage, production of food, and policy correspondingly. The industry will pass along these additional costs to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Secondly, what are the acceptable limits of GM contamination in non-GM products? It has been determined that 1% is an acceptable limit of cross-contamination, yet many consumer interest groups argue that only 0% is acceptable. But who is going to monitor these companies for compliance and what is the penalty if they fail? In addition, Scientists agree that current technology is unable to detect minute quantities of contamination, so ensuring 0% contamination using existing methodologies is not guaranteed.
Finally, who is to be responsible for educating the public about GM food labels and how costly will that education be? Food labels must be designed to clearly convey accurate information about the product in simple language that everyone can understand. This may be the greatest challenge faced be a new food labeling policy: how to educate and inform the public without damaging the public trust and causing alarm or fear of GM food products. However, on the other hand, labeling could have positive effects. For example, the public could be familiarized with such new technologies as the slow-ripening tomato, which has been well received by consumers, when marketed and voluntarily labeled as genetically modified to slow the ripening process.
In a word, the labeling is a complex issue. We should not make a simple decision that the labeling will be mandatory or not. The actual GM foods industries and situation must be taken into account.
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