Novel food
MEPs vote to put consumers' interests first on clone food and Nano food
The European Parliament today voted in second reading on the draft regulation on 'Novel foods'. Following the vote, Green MEP Bart Staes said:
"Today, the European Parliament has sent a clear message to the Commission: we don't want clone food on our plates! Cloning causes unnecessary harm to animals, while its long term health risks have not been sufficiently assessed. Against this background, it would be irresponsible to include food from cloned animals and their descendants in the scope of the Novel Foods regulation. It should instead be covered by separate legislation and we now urgently await a proposal by the Commission prohibiting the cloning of animals. In the meantime, a moratorium on the placing on the markets of food from cloned animals and their descendants should be declared.
The European Parliament also voted in favour of labelling food containing nanomaterials and made clear that no nano-food can be authorised until nano-specific risk assessment methods are available. The logic is simple: we first need to know whether a food is safe before allowing it on the European market."
It is now up to the Council and the Commission to stop their blockade so that we can move on with these important issues.
