The European Union on Tuesday decided to crack down on imports of rice from China, saying that the chinese authorities had failed to filter out products containing unauthorized genetically-modified ( GM) material
” Despite measures announced by the chinese authorities in 2007, alerts concerning the presence of the unauthorized GM rice ‘Bt 63’ were reported until late 2007,” the European Commission- the EU’s executive-said in a statement.
” The commission believes it is now appropriate to proceed with the adoption of emergency measures which will impose on an important number of rice products originating from China a compulsory certificate,” the statement said.
As of April 15, only rice and rice products which features on a special EU-approved list and which have been certified as GM-free by Eu-approved labs will be allowed into the 27-member bloc.
The list covers a huge variety of products, including husked and polished brown and white rice, rice flour, noodles, rice paper, rice starch, and unroasted mueslis, a spokeswoman for EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou told Deutsche Press- Agenturdpa.
EU imports of rice-based noodles from tons per year, she said.
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